


I Always Come Back to You

by AAvery



Category: VIXX
Genre: Anal Sex, Friends With Benefits To Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, Minor Angst, Oral Sex, PWP, Phone Sex, Public Sex, Rough Sex, porn with feelings attached eventually, previous domestic abuse/abusive relationship, so if that’s what you’re looking for you’re in the right place, there’s a lot of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-05-25 17:01:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 35,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14981597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AAvery/pseuds/AAvery
Summary: “Well hello there,” a voice purred through the phone. It was deep and playful and clearly belonged to a male. “I didn’t expect a guy to pick up the phone when I called…”“Sorry to disappoint?” Hongbin said, letting his slight annoyance pour into his voice.“No, no, I actually like it better this way,” the man said, chuckling deep and smooth through the phone. “You can call me Hyuk. I found your phone number and I’m definitely looking for a good time.”Hongbin never expected that the outcome of a stupid little bet could turn his life so completely upside down.





	1. Chapter 1

“I can’t believe you guys are actually making me do this,” Hongbin complained for around the twentieth time, looking down at the paper in his hand in complete disgust.

“You agreed to do whatever we said if you lost before we started, didn’t you?” Jaehwan said, barely holding back his laughter.

“Yeah, and you lost!” Wonsik added in, using Jaehwan’s shoulder for support as he too laughed his ass off. “You have to!”

“But why this?” Hongbin whined. He should’ve agreed upon the terms before agreeing to take Wonsik and Jaehwan on in a stupid little bet. Of course, he’d have to do something unsavory. He just hadn’t expected this…

“Because,” Jaehwan started, taking a deep breath in between his words. They were enjoying Hongbin’s misery entirely too much. “Because it’s funny!”

“What are you so worried about?” Wonsik asked.

“What if someone actually calls me? What if they’re a real creep? Are you actually going to make me stay on the phone with a creep?” Hongbin tried, hoping that he might still get out of this.

“Anyone who actually calls you is going to be a creep, besides it’s not like you’re actually having sex with them,” Jaehwan said.

“Yeah, just talk to them long enough to have a good story,” Wonsik agreed.

“I hate you both,” Hongbin seethed. He looked down at the paper he held. His cellphone number was written on the paper in Jaehwan’s bubbly hand-writing along with “Call for a good time”, a heart, and a winky face. If he saw this piece of paper on the street, he’d condemn whoever’s phone number it was immediately. And now, it was his own phone number. He absolutely despised this whole ordeal. How could his so-called friends actually expect him to go through with this?

What would he do if some creep did actually call him expecting a ‘good time’?

Maybe no one would call him… Maybe this stupid punishment would never come to fruition. So, taking a deep breath, before he lost his nerve once more, he threw the piece of paper out the window, watching it get caught in the wind and disappear from sight.

“I can’t believe you actually did that,” Wonsik said, breaking down into a new fit of laughter.

“Are you saying that you would’ve just let me chicken out?!” Hongbin yelled, which only caused Jaehwan and Wonsik to start laughing harder.

“We would’ve if you were super uncomfortable with it,” Jaehwan laughed out. “But now you’re stuck!”

“Say hello to the creep who calls for us!”

“I can’t believe you two!” Hongbin yelled, voice gaining volume.

“Hey, maybe you’ll have a good time,” Wonsik giggled. He broke into full on laughter again as Hongbin glared at him.

“Or maybe I’ll get murdered so I never have to deal with you two again,” Hongbin mumbled. That option was beginning to sound especially appealing.

“It’s not like you gave your address out. You’re not going to get murdered over a phone call, stupid,” Jaehwan teased.

“Yeah whatever,” Hongbin continued grumbling about how stupid this whole situation was.

“Maybe you’ll get some action,” Jaehwan pushed again. “Since you’ve been single so long…”

“Oh yeah, maybe then you’d stop moaning about how you hate seeing all these couples everywhere,” Wonsik added.

“You guys are the absolute worst.”

“No one’s going to call you, so stop being so bitter,” Wonsik scolded.

“Fine, let’s just go back to Mario Kart… but no more stupid bets!”

So Hongbin put the silly little punishment for losing a silly little bet out of his mind for a time. He had more important things to worry about anyway.

His life went on pretty normally after all that nonsense. He honestly didn’t know what he was expecting. That piece of paper probably fell into a puddle and dissolved or was torn to shreds by cars or people walking over it. There was no possible way anyone found it. And that fact only became more and more evident the more the days passed by.

Hongbin decided to just keep living his life. He attended his lectures for computer science and kept on studying like usual. He worked for pretty good money at a small video game shop in the middle of a very busy shopping mall, like usual. His apartment was immaculate, his grades high, and his finances well managed for a third-year college student, like usual. He wasn’t going to let that flimsy piece of paper ruin his organized and methodical lifestyle. It was stupid to worry so much in the first place. Occasionally, Jaehwan and Wonsik would bring their punishment up whenever they hung out but even they weren’t surprised to find out he’d gotten nothing.

But of course, as befit his terrible luck, two weeks after throwing that little slip of ripped paper out the window, his phone rang at around ten-thirty on a Friday night, as Hongbin was just about to go to bed. It was an unknown number lighting up his screen and causing his phone to vibrate his entire bed. A pang of nerves went through his stomach as his immediate thought was of that piece of paper blowing in the wind.

He could just let it go to voicemail, ignore it and go to bed, keep telling his friends no one had called him yet. But that didn’t feel right; he had agreed to a bet; Jaehwan had beaten him fair and square. Hongbin should honor his end; if, for nothing more than to finally have an interesting story to tell his friends.

Plus, what if it wasn’t someone ‘looking for a good time’? What if it was something important? He should just answer the phone, just in case.

So, he grabbed his phone, answering it just before the last ring.

“Hello?” He asked carefully into the phone.

“Well hello there,” a voice purred right back. It was deep and playful and clearly belonged to a male. “I didn’t expect a guy to pick up the phone…”

“Sorry to disappoint?” Hongbin said, letting his slight annoyance pour into his voice.

“No, no, I actually like it better this way,” the man said, chuckling deep and smooth through the phone. He didn’t sound too old… maybe around Hongbin’s age.

“Can I ask who this is?” Hongbin asked, trying to not sound as embarrassed as he actually was. It was apparent by now that this guy had found his note; no normal human being would start a conversation like that otherwise. Hongbin just hadn’t expected someone who sounded so sexy to be the one on the other side of the line. He didn’t sound like a total creep either…

“Oh, my bad, love,” the man purred. Hongbin shifted in his bed, beginning to feel a bit strange. “You can call me Hyuk. I found your phone number and I’m definitely looking for a good time.”

Hongbin’s throat went dry as he swallowed thickly around what felt like cotton. His hands were starting to shake from nerves.

“O-oh yeah?” Hongbin asked, hating that his voice was shaking as bad as his hands. “Why’s that?”

“Hmm, well you sound so sexy, baby. Your voice is so deep, I can only imagine how pretty you must be.”

Hongbin hated how much he loved the compliments and the pet names.

“What can I call you, gorgeous?” The man asked.

Hongbin didn’t want to give out his real name to a stranger so he said what he felt would be appropriate in a situation like this.

“Anything you want.”

“Oh, I like you,” the man teased. “What a naughty boy you must be.”

Hongbin didn’t know what to do in this situation. Should he continue? A very large part of him wanted to see where this would take him. His friends had been right on one account: It’d been such a long time since he’d gotten laid. He just hadn’t had the want to pursue a relationship after how his last one ended. But now here was a chance for a little release with no strings attached. His next thought was of how weird it was to have phone sex with a complete stranger. But then he thought about how people met up with strangers to have _actual_ sex all the time. This was harmless. They’d never have to talk to each other again and they both could have a good time.

So, Hongbin didn’t hang up the phone.

“Only for you, Hyuk-ah,” he whispered into the phone, in a way he hoped was sexy. The delicious groan he received from the other man told him he was successful.

“The things I want to do to you,” the man, Hyuk as he had said, practically growled into the phone. The sound went straight south for Hongbin and suddenly he was very willing to let all his insecurities and inhibitions go.

“I’d let you do them all,” he whined into the phone, shifting a bit so that he could pull the sweatpants he wore down and wrap his free hand around his semi-hard dick. He moaned at the contact, earning a dark chuckle from the other man.

“Are you touching yourself already?” The man teased, Hongbin responded with another moan. “You make such pretty sounds.”

The man moaned, deep and rumbling. It drove Hongbin just a little crazy to know he was the cause of those noises.

“What are you wearing, baby?” The man asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” Hongbin responded. He decided to plug in his ear buds to his phone so he could hear Hyuk’s voice right in his ear and free up both his hands. Then he went right back to teasing his achingly hard erection.

“How gorgeous,” Hyuk whispered. “I’d love to run my tongue down your stomach, going lower, and lower, and lower…”

Hongbin found himself tracing his fingers down his chest as Hyuk had described. He shivered as he imagined an attractive, faceless male actually kissing and licking where his fingers touched.

“Then, I’d kiss your delicious cock, right before taking it into my mouth and sucking hard.”

Hongbin moaned at such lewd imagery, craving the attention.

“Such gorgeous sounds,” the man moaned. “God, you’re driving me insane.”

“It’s the least I can do since your mouth’s around my cock,” Hongbin purred, copying Hyuk’s way of speaking as best he could.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure, baby. Because such pretty noises only make me want to fuck you senseless more and more. So, I’ll press a couple slicked up fingers into your wonderfully tight ass.”

Hongbin quickly dug through his bedside table, pulling out a half-used bottle of lube and coating a couple of his own fingers with the slick substance. He pushed one up into himself just as Hyuk had described. He moaned even louder in response.

“S-so good,” he stuttered into the phone.

“Hmm…” Hyuk agreed. “So good that eventually you’re fucking yourself on my fingers, a moaning mess, crying my name every other syllable, tears collecting in your eyes.”

“Hyuk-ah,’ he moaned as was asked of him. “Please…”

“Please what, darling?”

“I want you.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, oh yes. Please!” Hongbin moaned, desperate for release at this point. This man had him losing his mind with only his words; Hongbin was a little disappointed he’d never actually get to have this man fuck him into next week for real.

“What do you want me to do?”

Hongbin felt his face go hot and he knew it wasn’t because of his desire this time. He stuttered through his words:

“I-I don’t… I’ve never…”

But Hyuk quickly stepped in.

“Don’t be shy, now baby. Just tell me what you want done to you. It’s not hard, or shall I continue to indulge myself?”

When Hongbin didn’t say anything, Hyuk chuckled.

“Well then… how do I want you?” He laughed, deep and dark and turning Hongbin on even more.

“I want to ride you,” Hongbin practically whispered, finding the courage to say what he wanted.

“Really now?”

“I’ll push you away from me, flipping our positions and straddling your hips.”

“Oh fuck,” the man moaned, clearly liking what Hongbin was saying. “You’re so sexy.”

“I’ll smirk down at you, watching your surprised expression turn to that of pure pleasure as I sink down onto your cock, moaning my name when you’re completely in me.”

“I don’t know your name, love,” Hyuk bit out.

“Hongbin, it’s Hongbin,” he said quickly, uncaring that he gave away his real name to a stranger. Hearing that voice moan his name low and deep more than made up for it.

“Hongbin,” he called. “You’re such a good little slut.”

Hongbin gasped at being talked to in such a way.

“Do you like it when I call you that?”

“Y-yes,” he gasped, moving his hands a bit fasted as he chased his orgasm.

“So, ride my cock like the good little slut you are.”

“I’ll start by just rolling my hips, watching your face twist into pure bliss.”

“So good, s-so tight,” Sanghyuk moaned.

“Grinding my hips slow and steady, moaning your name because you fill me so good, hitting all the right spots. And when you can’t take the slow pace any longer, you’ll sit up and push me down onto the bed, flip me over and slam into me once again.”

“Well if you’re going to be such a tease you deserve it.”

“You’ll fuck me into the mattress. So hard, so good, that I’ll be screaming your name like the…” Hongbin bit back his embarrassment. “Like the good little slut I am for you.”

“God, Hongbin. I-I’m going to cum soon.”

“M-me too,” Hongbin admitted shakily. He could hear Hyuk’s ragged breaths in his ear as well as many grunts of pleasure. He was overcome with the sudden desire to get the other man to cum.

“Harder Hyuk! I’ll scream, begging you, even as I’m pressed into the mattress. I love the way you fuck me. So rough, so hard.”

Hongbin heard a bitten back cry of pleasure from the other end of the line. The sound of his name being called out in the heat of an orgasm dragged him just that bit further to bring him to his own. Hongbin came with his own muffled cry of Hyuk’s name as he spilled all over his own hand. He couldn’t remember a time he had felt this good by just masturbating.

He heard Hyuk shift on the other side, still panting heavily.

“That was…”

“Hot,” Hongbin finished.

He heard Hyuk laugh light-heartedly on the other side.

“Yeah, yeah it was. Damn.” Hyuk said. “When I called I didn’t expect this…”

Hongbin was slightly surprised by how normally they could talk after what they just did. He half-expected the other man to just hang up after reaching his climax. Hyuk just sounded so different now, without the sexual lilt to his voice it was like he was talking to just anyone else and they hadn’t just talked each other to orgasm.

“I did promise a good time, didn’t I?” Hongbin teased.

“That you did,” Hyuk laughed. “It certainly was a good time. Thanks for indulging me.”

“No… No problem,” Hongbin said, unsure of what else to say.

“Hey… Do you think I could… call you again? If you’re free and up for it, of course.” He sounded kind of nervous actually. Hongbin thought about it for a moment. He’d really like to do this again.

“Yeah… yeah sure,” Hongbin agreed finally. “Just uh… shoot me a text beforehand or something.”

“Yeah I can do that. Good night, Hongbin,” he said.

“Good night.”

Then the line went dead.

Wow.

He actually just did that.

He actually just had the best orgasm of his life while on the phone with a man he’d never met before and he didn’t regret any of it.

Or any of the other four times he’d done it over the next two weeks.

What was he going to tell his friends? He never was a very good liar and Wonsik knew him too well; he’d know immediately that Hongbin was lying if he even attempted to keep the story to himself. It was going to be an absolutely embarrassing nightmare.

He tried not to think about it so much and thankfully his friends didn’t ask at all. Maybe they’d finally forgotten about it. Maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about his dirty little secret seeing the light of day ever. Eventually Hyuk would stop calling, right? They wouldn’t keep doing this forever and Hongbin highly doubted the man would ever ask to meet in real life; they both were obviously pretty happy with keeping their identities a secret from each other since they were strangers after all. He’d never meet this Hyuk character and when this whole phone sex thing lost its charm, this entire episode would just blow away into the wind like that stupid piece of paper that started this whole mess.

But boy was he wrong.

It happened one actually pretty wonderful afternoon. Hongbin had just come out of a test he was pretty sure he aced- as usual- the sun was shining but it was still pretty mild out. The light breeze felt fantastic and the air smelled of spring. He decided that before working a late shift at his job that he’d grab a cup of coffee from a Starbucks on the way. A nice little treat for doing so well on that test he’d been studying so hard for.

He walked into the building, savoring the strong smell of freshly brewed coffee and vanilla that every Starbucks seemed to come with. There wasn’t much of a line since it was close to four in the afternoon so he practically walked right up to the counter to order. A barista stepped up to help him with a bright smile on his face.

“Hello! How can I help you?” He asked, looking Hongbin up and down and waiting for his response. He inexplicably felt a pang of nerves go through his stomach and leave him feeling slightly on edge. He knew that voice. It couldn’t be. It was entirely impossible. There was just no way.

He gave the other man a quick run over as well. He was a rather large guy, not in a fat way but rather in a tall and broad way. He was handsome, definitely stood out from the crowd. His black hair hung in his eyes, unstyled but he pulled off the effortless look. He wore a general Starbucks uniform and apron but he had the body to pull off anything. A name tag caught Hongbin’s eyes: ‘Sanghyuk’. The second syllable made Hongbin feel even more on-edge.

“A green-tea latte, please,” Hongbin said a bit nervously. He thought he saw the barista’s smile fade for a second as he looked a little surprised, but Hongbin passed it off as just his imagination playing tricks on him. There was no way this was his mystery phone guy. No way. Hongbin just recognized his voice because he came to this Starbucks on occasion. That had to be the reason. There were no other viable options that Hongbin wanted to consider.

“Of course, anything else?” The barista asked.

“No, that’s it.”

“Can I get a name for the order.

“Hongbin.”

“All right, Hongbin-ssi, your order will be ready soon,” the barista said. If Hongbin didn’t know any better, he would say the man’s smile turned into more of a smirk at learning Hongbin’s name.

“But I haven’t paid,” he said, holding up his debit card a little confused by what exactly was transpiring before him.

“It’s on me,” the barista said with a small laugh, he looked a little embarrassed before saying: “the most attractive customer that comes in the shop every day, gets a free drink on me and you’re definitely the most attractive.”

“Oh,” Hongbin blushed, looking anywhere but the man smiling at him. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

He spent the entire time waiting for his drink stealing glances at the barista who was entirely too familiar. It couldn’t be… but why else would the guy’s demeanor suddenly change after hearing Hongbin’s name if he didn’t also recognize him. Oh, this was so not good, he was utterly terrified. What would he do if the man actually approached him and started asking him questions right here in the middle of this coffee shop?

Thankfully, all his worrying was for naught as usual, because when he got his drink, another barista behind the counter called for him. But then the nerves all came back to him when on the side of the cup was written a phone number with a little winky face; it was entirely too reminiscent of what had been on the slip of paper that started this whole mess. When he checked the phone number on the cup with the number saved on his phone, it just confirmed his worst fears. He had just run into the man who had found his slip of paper, called him multiple times and gotten off with. He made a mental note to never go back into that Starbucks again ever, and to never pick up his phone again either.

That was entirely too embarrassing. The only good thing that came out of that conversation was that all his thoughts of how attractive the man he had been talking to was, were completely correct. With a different hair style and some more form-fitting clothes, he’d be completely irresistible. But as it stood now, Hongbin was way too embarrassed to ever humor such thoughts ever again. He’d never think about this ever again. And Hyuk, or Sanghyuk as he found out was his full name, would never come back into his life ever again if he had a say in it.

But of course, the universe just loved to prove him wrong.

His life finally turned completely upside down one night as he, Wonsik, and Jaehwan were getting Wonsik’s apartment ready for a small get-together. Well it was more like Hongbin cleaning while Jaehwan distracted Wonsik so he didn’t just make another mess of his apartment. Plus, Hongbin enjoyed cleaning when he was stressed, Jaehwan enjoyed being the center of attention, and Wonsik enjoyed staring at Jaehwan so it was a win-win for everyone.

“Hey, Hongbinnie,” Wonsik called absentmindedly while he played a video game with Jaehwan.

“What?” Hongbin called from Wonsik’s tiny kitchenette before joining his friends in the living room.

“Did you ever get a call from a random dude who found that paper?” Wonsik asked, pausing the game.

“Oh right, right!” Jaehwan exclaimed, bouncing in his seat a little bit in excitement. “So has anyone?”

Hongbin didn’t say anything at first. What could he actually say? ‘Yeah, a really hot guy called me, I’ve had phone sex with him five times over the past two weeks, and ran into him at a Starbucks’. He didn’t think that would go over well at all. He’d be endlessly made fun of if he even had the guts to bring all that up in the first place. As it stood right now, he was still a tight ball of nerves. His only saving grace was that Sanghyuk hadn’t called him again in the past few days since he saw him at that coffee shop.

“No… Still no one,” he tried. He knew it wasn’t going to work, but he at least had to try.

“You hesitated way too long for that to be true,” Wonsik said, shaking his head and already starting to laugh at him.

“Oh, for sure,” Jaehwan agreed.

“Did someone actually call you?”

“Oh my God, tell us everything.”

“Were they a creep?”

“Did they ask you to do some kinky shit?”

“Come on, Hongbinnie, tell us!”

They rapidly fired off questions at Hongbin, faster than he could ever comprehend what they were saying to him.

“Yes, someone called me,” Hongbin shouted, stopping Jaehwan and Wonsik’s one sided game of twenty questions. “It was a guy who I think is actually around our age but I could be wrong.”

He figured that leaving out his little meeting would be the best course of action for his pride right now. He was already going to get made fun of for even getting a phone call he couldn’t imagine what they’d say if he told them he actually met him.

“Really?” Jaehwan asked, breaking into a new fit of laughter. “Maybe we know him!”

“I doubt it,” Wonsik disagreed. “Was he a creep?”

Hongbin hesitated for a second before deciding to tell the truth.

“I didn’t think so,” he said. “He was pretty nice, actually.”

“So when did you hang up the phone on him?”

“Yeah, did you learn any of his weird kinks?”

When Hongbin didn’t answer either of their questions, the other two were able to put two and two together.

“Hongbin, you didn’t!” Jaehwan gasped. Hongbin blushed despite himself.

“Don’t judge me! It’s your fault it happened at all!”

Both Jaehwan and Wonsik were practically rolling on the floor with laughter as Hongbin debated just jumping out the window.

“Oh man, I have so many questions!” Jaehwan wheezed.

“Was it weird?”

“Did he sound sexy?”

“Did you do something kinky?”

“Can you both stop it so I can think!” Hongbin yelled, thankfully shutting his friends up for a time.

“Thank you,” he sighed.

“We’re sorry, Binnie,” Jaehwan started. “This is just so unlike you…”

“Yeah, if someone came up to me earlier today and said that you actually did something like this with a complete stranger I’d never have believed them, probably wouldn’t have been able to stop laughing at such a thought for a week,” Wonsik added.

“I know, I know,” Hongbin agreed, sitting down on the love seat opposite Jaehwan and Wonsik and rubbing at his face. “He just sounded so normal, and he wasn’t creepy about the whole thing. You both know I haven’t had a boyfriend since Freshman year… So I just went for it…”

“It’s your life, Binnie. I just can’t believe you went through with it without cringing the entire time,” Jaehwan said.

“It was kind of embarrassing.”

“Did you have fun? Was he sexy? Come on, you have to tell us!”

Hongbin blushed again, hiding his face in his hands as he tried to calm down. Why did he associate with people who enjoyed embarrassing him entirely too much?

“He is pretty sexy…” Hongbin mumbled, remembering how the man looked the other day.

“Wait…” Wonsik said, realizing Hongbin’s mistake at the same moment as Hongbin. “Do you know what he looks like?”

“Oh my God, Binnie!” Jaehwan screeched. “You’re still talking to him!? You’ve seen him?”

“Yes…” Hongbin admitted ashamedly.

“What has gotten into you, you sly dog?!” Jaehwan teased.

“Nothing…” Hongbin whispered. “I just ran into him at a Starbucks the other day. He was working the counter and I recognized his voice.”

“Are you sure it was him?” Jaehwan asked.

“Yeah… because he recognized me too. He gave me his phone number on the cup.”

“Are you still going to talk to him?”

“No, I’ve already decided that I will avoid that place like the plague from now on.”

“That’s probably for the best… you know, just in case,” Wonsik agreed.

“Yeah, he could still be a creep, just not outwardly so,” Jaehwan said. Something didn’t sit right with Jaehwan calling Sanghyuk a creep. He didn’t know why, but he just didn’t like it.  

“All right, so!” Hongbin said, trying to push this embarrassing conversation as far into the past as possible. Ignoring all his strange feelings, he had to put this all in the past. It was a silly little fling. It’s not like he was obligated to do anything with it. “Help me finish cleaning and getting everything set up. Your guests will be arriving soon.”

He was met with a choir of frustrated groans and reluctant ‘fines’ as his friends got up from the couch to help him prepare for their own party. There really wasn’t much else for everyone to do since Hongbin had pretty much done everything anyway. He just didn’t know what kind of drinks and food his friends did, or did not, want to set out for their guests to have free reign over. After that was done, all that was left was to wait around for their other friends to show up for their little get together.

As usual, Hakyeon and Taekwoon were the first to show up since they lived in the same building. Both of them weren’t in school anymore, having graduated three years ago; they were even married now- to each other at that- but they still enjoyed hanging around their younger friends. Hakyeon always jumped at the opportunity to get out of their apartment and always dragged his husband with him.

A couple of Jaehwan’s friends showed up after them. Sandeul, chipper as usual, totting his boyfriend and a close friend of Hongbin’s, Gongchan. Gongchan would be the only friend of Hongbin’s attending outside his usual circle of four.

Then there was Seokjin and his boyfriend Namjoon, also friends of Jaehwan, along with Changkyun and his boyfriend Kihyun. Wonsik’s friends Taemin and Jongin showed up as well, and conveniently enough, were also dating.

Hongbin felt like the ultimate thirteenth wheel, surrounded by all these happy couples. It wasn’t like his friends were rubbing it in his face that they were all happily dating or married and he had been single for two years. It was his own fault, prioritizing his studies and work life above a romantic relationship. His friends always told him, though, that he was a ‘great guy’ and ‘very handsome’ so he’d find someone when he was ready to start dating again. He still felt a little left out being the only single man at this get together, though.

But that changed an hour in to the festivities when one of Wonsik’s friends from his dance studio showed up late to the party. Hongbin had volunteered to get the door when a knock resounded amidst the light conversation.

“Can… can I help… Can I help you?” Hongbin asked the man that stood at the door. It took entirely too long for Hongbin to get that sentence out around his shock and awe. The man that stood in front of him was his barista from the other day. He couldn’t believe his absolutely terrible luck. What was he going to do now? Avoiding the man would be so much harder in Wonsik’s small apartment.  

“I was… uhh invited to Wonsik-hyung’s for a party, I guess? I know I’m a little late but…” He spoke with a deep voice that Hongbin immediately found eerily familiar. He hated this. This couldn’t be happening to him. Hongbin then realized the man attached ‘hyung’ to the end of Wonsik’s name. If he had done that for Wonsik, that also meant he was younger than Hongbin as well.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Hongbin said, barely above a whisper, opening the door further and moving out of the way so the newcomer could come in. “Everyone’s in the living room.”

The man nodded, removing his shoes and coat before following Hongbin into the main room of the apartment. Thankfully, he said nothing about the other day or even acted like he recognized Hongbin at all. That made him feel only slightly better.

“Who was at the door, Hongbinnie?” Hakyeon asked as he walked back into the room with their newest guest behind him.

“Sanghyuk!” Wonsik immediately piped up. Sanghyuk broke into a smile upon seeing a familiar face. “You made it!”

“Sorry I’m late, hyung. I got caught up at work…”

“Don’t worry about it! Grab a seat!”

And the party continued on normally after that.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, including Hongbin who enjoyed watching everyone slowly become more and more hysterical as they drank more and more. He was easily able to avoid any sort of conversation with Sanghyuk since the younger man didn’t seem to be too interested in him. He was a little confused as to why but he didn’t have to worry about it for much longer because apparently Sanghyuk had just been biding his time until he could get Hongbin alone. His moment came when Hongbin went into the kitchen to find himself something to drink.  

“Well hello there,” an all too familiar voice purred as Hongbin froze. He turned around slowly to find Sanghyuk leaning against the doorframe, looking entirely too sexy with a knowing smirk on his face.

His legs were miles long, accentuated by tight skinny jeans. He had only a T-shirt on but Hongbin could still tell that it hid a very chiseled chest. His arms were crossed across his chest, showing off some nice biceps. His black hair, styled neatly in a stylish coiffure. Hongbin had always imagined someone very attractive to be the owner of that deep voice, and oh man, had he been right. He was also happily surprised by how correct he had been in his assessment of the man at the coffee shop… not that he actually thought about the man enough to have such thoughts.

“It’s nice to see you again, Hongbin; though, I suppose I should call you hyung now,” Sanghyuk laughed. Hongbin still didn’t say anything, he didn’t know what to say. What was a good thing to say in this situation? Sanghyuk only chuckled in response to Hongbin’s silence.

“I never thought I’d get this chance,” Sanghyuk admitted, pushing himself off the door frame and taking a couple steps towards Hongbin. In response, Hongbin backed away. “I must say, you are a million times more handsome than I could ever conjure in my own head. You nearly blew me away when you walked into the coffee shop the other day, so imagine my delight when you turned out to be _the_ Hongbin from the other side of my phone”

“W-what are you talking about?” Hongbin stuttered out, blushing from the compliment Sanghyuk had given him.

“I think you know,” he said. Hongbin’s backside hit the kitchen counter and Sanghyuk quickly caged him in. A hand on either side of Hongbin, bracing himself against the counter. He leaned forward and Hongbin leaned away as best he could. How had he managed to get himself in this situation?

“The things I’ve been wanting to do to you,” Sanghyuk whispered, hinting at and twisting what he would always purr over the phone. “Do you wanna… play out those fantasies we created?”

Hongbin choked on nothing at those words.

“We can’t… not here… this isn’t my apartment,” Hongbin stupidly sputtered out. “And we can’t just leave.”

Sanghyuk chuckled.

“They’re all drunk out there, they won’t miss us at all,” Sanghyuk said. “But if you’d rather not… I’m not going to force myself on you.”

Hongbin felt a little moved by the concerned tone Sanghyuk’s voice took on as he said those words. The younger man began to move away from Hongbin, clearly a bit embarrassed by his actions.

Hongbin caught his arm before he could leave entirely, however, and pulled him back. Sanghyuk looked a little confused but easily went along with Hongbin. Hongbin, himself wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing. What _had_ come over him lately? Sure, he was a little lonely… all these happy couples everywhere made him sick to his stomach with what he could only assume was longing. He knew a full-on relationship wouldn’t stem from this. But here was this insanely hot man, who he had had numerous explicit conversations with, and was equally as attracted to Hongbin, offering himself for real, to him.

Well, he wasn’t going to turn that down… Despite the fact that every bone in his body was telling him of how bad of an idea this was.

“Don’t… Don’t go,” Hongbin said, impossibly quiet. “Do you really think no one will realize we’re gone?”

Sanghyuk broke into a giant smile.

“Guarantee it,” he affirmed.

So, Hongbin maneuvered around Sanghyuk, quickly walking through Wonsik’s apartment to the front door. Sanghyuk readily followed him, slipping his shoes and coat on as quickly as Hongbin. Then, he led him out into the hallway and into the elevator. Hongbin hit the button for nine floors above Wonsik’s floor, floor nineteen.

The second the doors were closed, Hongbin was pushed against them, and then Sanghyuk pressed himself against him. Hongbin let out a surprised whine just before Sanghyuk connected their lips together. He moved fast and very enthusiastically, if a little sloppily, but Hongbin really wasn’t one to judge Sanghyuk on inexperience. So he met him head on. Sliding their lips together, hands exploring each other’s bodies. A thigh found its way up between Hongbin’s legs, applying delicious pressure for Hongbin to grind down on.

He was vaguely aware of the elevator dinging in the background and his own voice being echoed around the small space. The gravity of the situation and what they were doing suddenly hit him.

“Sanghyuk,” Hongbin whispered, breaking their kiss. Sanghyuk only moved to kiss at Hongbin’s neck. Hongbin bit back the groans that were threatening to spill from his mouth. “What if someone calls the elevator.”

Sanghyuk laughed.

“We’ll just have to stop quickly, then.”

“There are cameras in here,” Hongbin continued.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“…No…”

Sanghyuk laughed again, and Hongbin kissed him just to avoid whatever teasing was about to come his way. The elevator continued to move up the remaining floors, dinging finitely as the doors slid open. Hongbin and Sanghyuk stumbled out of it, nearly running over one of Hongbin’s neighbors as they went. He apologized as politely as he could while giggling hysterically and being pulled along by an equally bubbly Sanghyuk. When Hongbin opened the door to his apartment, he pushed Sanghyuk into the room before shutting and locking the door once more.

“I’ve always wanted to make out with someone in an elevator,” Sanghyuk laughed, stalking back up to Hongbin, who leaned against the door.

“Really now?” Hongbin teased. “Anywhere else?”

“Ooo, is that an offering?” Sanghyuk shot right back. “Because I can think of a ton of places I’d like to make out with you.”

“Is a bed one of them?”

“You know it.”

“Well then, you can cross that off your list.”

“Lead the way, sexy.”

Hongbin blushed at the compliment but tried to push his embarrassment as far out of his mind as possible. He grabbed Sanghyuk’s wrist and pulled him through the large living room/kitchen combination and into his master bedroom.

In a twist of events, Sanghyuk grabbed his wrist and threw him onto the bed with strength Hongbin really hadn’t expected. He pulled off his shirt in one fluid motion before joining Hongbin on the bed. Hongbin couldn’t bring himself to look away from Sanghyuk. He had been right, Sanghyuk did have a very well-defined chest, muscular and chiseled yet not overwhelmingly so.

“Like what you see?” Sanghyuk teased, crawling on top of Hongbin and tugging at the end of Hongbin’s own shirt. Hongbin nodded eagerly, sitting up so Sanghyuk could slip his shirt off as well. He whistled appreciatively before saying:

“And you’re not so bad yourself,” he smirked as Hongbin tried to cover himself. “No, no, none of that.”

He forced Hongbin’s arms away from his chest and above his head.

“I want to see all of you since you’re so much better than I had imagined,” Sanghyuk continued.

“You’ve already said that…” Hongbin said, hoping his embarrassment wasn’t showing through. But of course, it always did and Sanghyuk noticed, giggling teasingly.

“Have I? I guess I just want to make sure you know how fucking attractive you are.”

Hongbin looked away before saying bitterly:

“Are you only here to compliment me or to fuck me senseless?”

Something dark flashed through Sanghyuk’s as he laughed deep and dark.

“I suppose you have a point,” Sanghyuk said. “If just talking to you about these things is utterly amazing I can only imagine how fucking you is actually going to feel.”

“Well you won’t have to wait much longer.”

“Fantastic.”

Hongbin watched as Sanghyuk moved to straddle his hips before beginning to kiss at his neck once more. His hands trailed down Hongbin’s sides, leaving goosebumps in his finger’s wake, before beginning to undo Hongbin’s pants. Helping the process along, Hongbin shimmied out of his jeans and underwear. Then Sanghyuk was kissing his way down Hongbin’s chest, going lower and lower with each hot, open-mouthed kiss against alabaster skin. When he reached it, Sanghyuk left kissed up Hongbin’s growing erection, tentatively- and almost hesitantly- coaxing it into a full hard-on. Hongbin moaned loudly at the contact, seemingly spurring Sanghyuk on and giving him the last bit of motivation he needed to go further. He took Hongbin fully into his mouth, sucking and licking in all the right places.

Hongbin moaned unabashedly. God, it felt so good. He hadn’t done something like this is so long and he really hoped he got to do it again sometime soon because he hadn’t felt this good in so long.

“Do you have something for…?” Sanghyuk asked, popping off Hongbin for a moment and gesturing vaguely to Hongbin’s ass.

“Oh yeah…” Hongbin said breathily, digging only for a moment through his nightstand and passing his now almost empty bottle of lube to Sanghyuk.

“This has been well-used,” Sanghyuk giggled, before he seemed to put two and two together and flushed a deep red.

“Have you been… fingering yourself during our phone calls?” He gulped.

Hongbin nodded slowly, a little nervous as to why Sanghyuk was reacting this way. Sanghyuk quickly poured a generous amount of lube onto his fingers before moving to stick one long finger deep up into Hongbin. He cried out in equal parts shock, pleasure, and pain.

“That’s freaking hot as hell,” Sanghyuk said before beginning to suck on Hongbin’s dick once more.

“Hyuk-ah,” Hongbin moaned the name Sanghyuk had given him over the phone. Sanghyuk groaned in response, sending wonderful vibrations straight through Hongbin. “S-so good.”

He weaved his hand through Sanghyuk’s hair, feeling a little overwhelmed by the sensations. But then it all stopped as Sanghyuk got off of Hongbin, quickly pulling off his own pants- he wasn’t wearing any underwear- and moving right back to where he was before.

“I hadn’t actually ever sucked someone off before…” Sanghyuk said quietly.

“I couldn’t tell,” Hongbin whispered, very eager to get to the main event.

“And you’re sure you’re okay with this?” Sanghyuk asked. Hongbin rolled his eyes, taking an idea from one of their phone calls and flipping their positions. Sanghyuk looked up at him completely shocked as Hongbin lathered Sanghyuk’s own achingly hard and neglected cock in the last of Hongbin’s lube before sinking down on Sanghyuk. He moaned loudly at the stimulation as Sanghyuk’s expression turned to that of pure bliss.

“F-fuck, you’re so good, Hongbin, so tight,” Sanghyuk groaned out. Hongbin took that as his cue to begin grinding down slow and steady into Sanghyuk’s lap. They both moaned loudly at the pressure, a name slipping from their mouths on occasion. Hongbin kept up his slow pace for a while, reveling in the slow burn of pleasure growing in his stomach and enjoying the wonderful expressions that went across Sanghyuk’s face. He was on cloud nine and from the way Sanghyuk was reacting so was he.

And it only got better when the slow pace finally made Sanghyuk snap. He growled deep in the back of his throat, pushing Hongbin off of him and onto his back. Hongbin cried out in surprise but before he could even ask what was going on, Sanghyuk was flipping him over, grabbing at his hips and thrusting roughly back into him once more. The sound of slick skin hitting skin filled the room alongside Hongbin’s cries for more and Sanghyuk’s grunts of pleasure. The new pace was brutally fast and had Hongbin practically screaming towards the end; it mortified him to know that all his neighbors could definitely hear him but he couldn’t stop. It all felt so good. He was pressed into the mattress roughly the longer they went but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He didn’t want it to ever end.

He felt the familiar pull in his stomach, his pleasure reaching even higher if that were even possible before he was cumming all over the mattress beneath him, with a cry of Sanghyuk’s name. Sanghyuk was right after him, spilling hot, sticky liquid all over Hongbin’s thighs.

He felt himself being pulled backwards, but Hongbin couldn’t really tell as he came down from his high. His head hit soft pillows and a blanket covered his naked body. He was vaguely aware of a warm body next to him and he nuzzled up against it, wanting to be as close to the man who brought him so much pleasure as possible. He felt a kiss pressed against his forehead and murmur: “Good night, Hongbin”, as strong arms embraced him comfortably. Then, feeling very warm, relaxed and satisfied, he drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Hongbin awoke from one of the most satisfying nights of sleep ever in his life slowly and pleasantly. He was warm, his face pressed comfortably against warm skin. The man still fast asleep next to him held him carefully with an arm slung around his waist. Hongbin could hear his heartbeat through his chest where his ear was placed, a steady thumping that made him feel comforted. It was a nice way to wake up even if Sanghyuk was practically a stranger. Certainly better than any of the days he had woken up with an actual boyfriend two years ago.

He carefully sat up, trying his very hardest not to disturb Sanghyuk’s sleep. He looked so peaceful and completely sexy all at the same time despite how much of a mess he was. Hongbin looked around the room, sighing at all the clothes that were thrown everywhere around his small bedroom. He’d clean it all up later, maybe when Sanghyuk had left and taken his clothes with him.

He got up from the bed as silently as he could, moving to his dresser to pull out some clean clothes. He looked at his sweatpants for a moment, quietly considering whether or not to leave out a pair for Sanghyuk. Those skinny jeans wouldn’t be fun to squeeze into early on a Sunday morning but he didn’t think any of the pants he owned would fit Sanghyuk anyway… He settled on leaving out the biggest pair he owned on the edge of the bed before seeking out his apartment’s bathroom. He took a fast shower, washing away all the evidence of what happened just last night.

A little tingling of nerves started to fill his stomach as he stood under the spray of water. He didn’t regret what he did last night; no, he’d enjoyed himself way too much for that. He was mainly worried about what all his friends would think of him.

What was he thinking? Had he finally snapped? Had he gone off the deep end completely? A year ago he wouldn’t have even considered hooking up with a guy he barely knew, especially with how his last relationship had ended, and now look at him! He’d sworn off dating after his particularly terrible relationship and even nastier breakup two years ago but now… he didn’t even know where he stood on the matter anymore. He really didn’t expect whatever this was between him and Sanghyuk to actually go anywhere; a relationship founded on sex probably wouldn’t be a healthy one anyway. And Hongbin really didn’t want to get attached to someone again who didn’t care about him in the least bit. But if Sanghyuk wanted to do something like this again, without having to be dating… Hongbin wouldn’t say no…

When he got out of the shower, he toweled off his hair and got dressed before going into the main room of his apartment. It was a pretty open-concept kitchen and living room combination unlike Jaehwan and Wonsik’s which were separated by walls. It wasn’t very decorated and only held the bare minimum of furniture but Hongbin liked it the way it was. It wasn’t too small and it wasn’t too big. His favorite part about the whole thing were the tall, floor to ceiling windows covering the entirety of one wall of the living room. He got a wonderful view of the city from there, being so high up and facing just the right way. He liked looking out them, watching the people in other buildings or walking down the streets below. Maybe he was a little weird, but it made him feel better sometimes seeing just how many people were out there in the world.

He went into his kitchen first, noticing that Sanghyuk still had not moved from his sleeping position as Hongbin passed by his bedroom. Deciding that he might as well just continue on with how he would normally spend a Sunday morning, he started on making some breakfast. He wasn’t particularly good at cooking but he’d been trying to learn lately. Making his own food was a lot cheaper than eating out all the time so he was trying; his food was at least edible sometimes and it wasn’t like Sanghyuk had to eat it.

His first objective was to get his coffee maker running. Hongbin had a bit of stuff he needed to get done today and he wasn’t going to let his nightly escapades effect his school work. The coffee would make sure he didn’t feel the need to take a nap halfway through the day. Then, he looked through his fridge for anything he could use to make a halfway decent breakfast. He really needed to go grocery shopping… maybe Hakyeon would go with him sometime this week…

Settling on just making some quick and easy egg and vegetable omelets, he got started. He still had leftover vegetables from the last dinner he had tried- and failed miserably- to make, so he didn’t really need to do much work except cook the eggs. He could do that, maybe the only thing he could successfully do on occasion besides instant noodles and sometimes toast when he was feeling adventurous. Taekwoon would always tell him to just keep practicing and eventually he’d get better; easy for him to say. Taekwoon was a natural in the kitchen.

While lost in his bitter thoughts about Taekwoon’s superior cooking skills, he hadn’t even noticed another person had entered the kitchen. As he stood at the stove, focused solely on making sure he didn’t screw up this meal, Sanghyuk silently paddled into the kitchen. Hongbin jumped and gave out a rather embarrassing yelp of shock as Sanghyuk came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Hongbin’s middle.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” Sanghyuk laughed, placing a warm kiss on the back of Hongbin’s neck.

“You scared the shit out of me,” Hongbin bit back, going back to his cooking as best he could with a hot distraction hanging off him.

“Aww, I’m sorry, hyung,” Sanghyuk cooed.

“What did you say?”

“You’re older than me,” Sanghyuk brushed it off. “I told you that last night.”

“I remember,” Hongbin said quietly, feeling embarrassed despite himself. All his friends, besides Wonsik who was the same age as him, were older than him. It’d been a while since he heard someone call him that…

“Hey, thanks for the sweatpants.”

“Yeah, sure,” Hongbin nodded, trying to keep his feelings in check. It was a little hard with Sanghyuk pressed so close against him but there was just no way he was having sex in his kitchen. “Just wash them before you give them back.”

“Yeah of course,” Sanghyuk said, moving away from Hongbin and leaning against the counter next to the stove. “What are you doing?”

“Making breakfast, what does it look like I’m doing?”

“For me, hyung? You’re too kind,” Sanghyuk teased.

“For someone so sexy you sure are a little brat, aren’t you?” Hongbin laughed.

“You think I’m sexy?”

“Of course that’s what you’d latch on to…” Hongbin rolled his eyes. Sanghyuk leaned towards him, a dangerous smile on his face. Hongbin stopped him before he could kiss him though, hitting Sanghyuk’s rather large- but cute- nose with the spatula he held in his left hand.

“Not in my kitchen,” Hongbin said before turning back to the food.

“Right, right,” Sanghyuk laughed. “But, just for the record, you do think I’m sexy?”

“…Yes…” Hongbin admitted quietly. “Why do you keep asking?”

“No one’s...” Sanghyuk started, looking anywhere but Hongbin before continuing. “No one’s told me that before.”

“Oh,” Hongbin said stupidly, unsure of what to say in response to all this. Thankfully, Sanghyuk started talking once again, changing the subject before the conversation turned too awkward.

“You’re a bit of a neat freak, huh?”

“No, I just like it when things are clean…”

“Hate to break it to you, but that’s what makes you a neat freak.”

Hongbin sighed, turning off the stove and then facing Sanghyuk.

“Do you want breakfast or not?”

“Are you threatening me?”

“You’re impossible,” Hongbin sighed.

“Here to help,” Sanghyuk laughed, stealing a kiss from Hongbin’s lips before retreating from the kitchen all together.

Hongbin found it rather weird as he sat down next to Sanghyuk at his small kitchen counter bar, how normal and easy they were able to talk to each other. The conversation didn’t feel awkward or forced which was the exact opposite of what he had been expecting. They had known each other for two weeks now but all their conversations had been over the phone. Maybe that was just the kind of guy Sanghyuk was: easy-going and bold. Hongbin really wouldn’t mind him hanging around a bit more. 

“Hey, hyung,” Sanghyuk spoke up towards the end of breakfast.

“What?” He asked, sipping from his cup of coffee. He was very pleased that his cooking had been acceptable this morning so Sanghyuk had no idea how much of a disaster he usually was.

“This might be… a bit inappropriate,” Sanghyuk said, shifting in his chair a bit. He wouldn’t look up at Hongbin from the empty plate in front of him. “But do you think we could… do this again sometime?”

“You mean, hook up again?” Hongbin asked just for clarity’s sake. Sanghyuk swallowed thickly.

“Yeah…”

Hongbin didn’t need to think long to come up with his answer, especially since he had been thinking about such things all morning.

“Sure,” he said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. “You have my number.”

Sanghyuk laughed at that.

“That I do.”

And so, Hongbin’s life went back to pretty much normal. If his life had a very bubbly yet sexy younger man in it before he had met Sanghyuk. In all honesty, saying his life went back to normal was a flat out lie; he just told himself that to make himself feel better. It wasn’t like he was unhappy with everything that happened; if anything, he liked his life a lot better now. It was always just extremely embarrassing for him to think about everything he had done when not too long ago he would’ve been disgusted in himself,

Thankfully- or unfortunately, it varied from moment to moment in Hongbin’s mind- throughout the next week, Sanghyuk hadn’t contacted him looking to hook up. He’d just text Hongbin occasionally whenever he was bored, looking for a little conversation. Hongbin really didn’t mind and, though he would never admit it out loud, he actually looked forward to their small conversations. It was always a nice break from cleaning or studying or any of the other strenuous tasks that he frequently did. Sanghyuk was a bit of a dork, constantly sarcastic yet rather considerate, though he tried to always play it off as a joke. It was nice to have a friend that wanted to talk to him and didn’t accidentally or unintentionally rub it in his face that they were all happily dating someone. He loved his friends, he really did, and of course he was happy for all of them but sometimes Hongbin felt a little lonely talking to them and their significant others. But with Sanghyuk, Hongbin never felt that way, since Sanghyuk was just as single as Hongbin was. It was nice…

“So how are things with you?” Hakyeon asked after he finished his always long-winded speech of how he was doing. He and Hongbin were grocery shopping one Friday morning a week after Jaehwan and Wonsik’s party. It hadn’t taken much convincing to get Hakyeon to come with him. He literally just called the older man, said “do you” into the phone, and was instantly cut off by Hakyeon’s excited shouts of agreement. Taekwoon really needed to take Hakyeon out more often…

“Not too bad, pretty good actually,” Hongbin said, pushing their shared cart down the aisles half-heartedly, grabbing items off the shelves occasionally.

“Oh? Why’s that?” Hakyeon asked.

“Don’t sounds so surprised,” Hongbin laughed. “I can be a happy person too on occasion.”

“I’m just curious as to what’s going on in your life,” Hakyeon said. Hongbin knew he was prying for details, but he wasn’t going to give easily. He wasn’t sure how Hakyeon would react to what he had gotten himself into. “I noticed you left Wonsik and Jaehwan’s party early last weekend…”

“Yeah,” Hongbin said. “I felt a little left out with all the couples everywhere.”

It was a good excuse and it usually worked; if only Sanghyuk wasn’t in the equation.

“But that friend of Wonsik’s was there, he didn’t have a date either,” Hakyeon said, then began to fake thoughtfulness. “What was his name again?”

“Sanghyuk,” Hongbin filled in and then immediately cussed himself out in his head for falling for Hakyeon’s trap so easily.

“Right Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon sounded entirely too smug for Hongbin’s liking. He should’ve just invited Taekwoon instead. At least that way he would’ve just gotten silently judged instead of outwardly. “And he’s a…?”

“Sophomore in performing arts.” Hongbin really needed to stop talking.

“Oh really? How interesting,” Hakyeon continued. “You know, now that I’m thinking about it. I’m pretty sure Sanghyuk disappeared from that party around the same time as you…”

“How strange,” Hongbin tried. Hakyeon immediately hit him hard in the back of the head. “Ow! What the hell?”

“Stop playing dumb. I know you two left together,” Hakyeon snapped.

“Why couldn’t you have just outright asked then?” Hongbin hissed.

“As if you would have actually given me a straight answer that way either.”

He had a point. Hongbin still wasn’t entirely sure if he would give Hakyeon a straight answer even at this point. This entire situation was so embarrassing…

“Okay, well I left the party with Sanghyuk. All of you were having fun without needing me around so I didn’t think it’d be a big deal.” Hongbin grumbled.

“Did you have sex with him?” Hakyeon immediately asked. No shame even though they were in the middle of a grocery store with people around him. How Taekwoon ever managed to put up with this man for longer than an hour was lost to Hongbin; he envied that man’s patience.

“What the hell, hyung?” Hongbin sputtered, face turning a slight red with his embarrassment.

“Oh my God, you did!” Hakyeon shouted.

“We are in public, keep your voice down!” Hongbin hissed.

“Jaehwannie and Wonsik told me about your recent escapades over the phone and now this?” Hakyeon said, shaking his head. “What has gotten in to you?”

“I don’t know, hyung,” Hongbin admitted quietly.

“I’m not mad at you, you know,” Hakyeon said, rubbing his back soothingly. His voice softened from the stern tone he had before. “I’m just worried since I remember how awful that asshole treated you. I don’t want you going through that again…”

“Sanghyuk isn’t like him,” Hongbin said quickly in defense of Sanghyuk. He didn’t know why he so readily defended him even though he barely even knew the man, so he amended his statement a bit. “Or at least I don’t think so.”

“Are you guys dating now?”

“No,” he said. “No, we aren’t.”

“Soo… just friends?” Hakyeon asked skeptically. “That are having sex?”

“We haven’t really talked about what we are.”

“You’re being careful, right?” Hakyeon asked, worry clear in his voice. “Because I don’t want you showing up at my doorstep covered in bruises again.”

Hongbin winced at that memory. That had been a particularly painful night, in more ways than one.

“I won’t…” Hongbin said.

“Okay,” Hakyeon said, smiling comfortingly at him before his expression turned severe. “But if he so much as lays a finger on you with the intention to hurt you, I don’t care how big that guy is, I will destroy him.”

Hongbin laughed, knowing Hakyeon was deadly serious. Even if Hakyeon was a slighter man, tall yet skinny and graceful, Hongbin never wanted to face the full force of Hakyeon’s wrath.

“Thanks, hyung,” Hongbin laughed. But he was entirely convinced Sanghyuk was nothing like the man Hongbin had dated in his freshman year. He’d never do anything to physically hurt him… at least not without Hongbin wanting and willingly consenting to it…

Later in the day, after Hakyeon had helped him put all his groceries away and left to go organize his own kitchen, Hongbin sat alone in his living room. It was getting late, the sun was going down and even though it was a Friday night, Hongbin was working on the homework he’d received from his classes earlier in the afternoon. Writing out code and testing it over and over again wasn’t exactly the most ideal way to spend his night but he didn’t have anything else to do anyway. It was Hakyeon and Taekwoon’s date night and Jaehwan and Wonsik were probably out doing something together too. Either pair of his friends probably wouldn’t have minded at all if he were to tag along with them but, contrary to his friends’ beliefs, he didn’t exactly like being a third wheel.

When he finished his homework, he changed into some more comfortable clothes- an old T-shirt and sweatpants- before settling on his couch to watch whatever he could find on the TV. It was nice to relax a bit even if he was alone. Would he have preferred some company? Of course. But his friends had lives outside of him so he couldn’t expect them to entertain him every time he was lonely.

About an hour in to his relaxation, a knock sounded on his front door. He considered ignoring it for a few seconds. He hadn’t gotten any text messages from his friends so it probably wasn’t them. His next thought was that it could probably be one of his neighbors or maybe even his landlord. So with a sigh, Hongbin picked himself up off the couch and shuffled to the door. He was a little embarrassed by the clothes he wore since he’d been expecting to be alone all evening and dressed as such. They weren’t exactly flattering so he really hoped whoever was at his door wasn’t someone important.

He opened his door to find himself a little lost for words by who stood outside it.

“Well hello, sexy,” Sanghyuk mocked. “I see you got all dressed up for me.”

Hongbin sighed, feeling self-conscious despite himself. Sanghyuk probably didn’t mean anything hurtful by his comment but Hongbin couldn’t help it.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, wrapping his arms around his middle in an effort to make himself feel better. It didn’t work.

“Aww, I’m hurt,” Sanghyuk said. “Do you not want me here?”

“That’s not it,” Hongbin mumbled. “But you could’ve told me before showing up here.”

“I thought I’d be spontaneous.”

“I’m not dressed…”

“Yeah and?” Sanghyuk said, placing down the bag he held in his hand and moved closer to Hongbin in the doorway. He grabbed his hips, pulling them flush with his own. Hongbin gasped quietly.

“You still look hot as hell. Your clothes don’t change the hot body underneath, now do they? So it really won’t matter when they’re all on the floor.”

Hongbin didn’t know how to respond to that, his embarrassment keeping him silent.

“So,” Sanghyuk said, leaning in close so that his lips brushed Hongbin’s as he talked. “Can I come in?”

Hongbin nodded quickly; Sanghyuk smiled brightly down at him.

“Great!” He said, demeanor switching from sexual to bubbly in literally two seconds as he moved away from Hongbin to pick up the bag he brought. “I brought drinks in case that didn’t work.”

“In case seducing me didn’t work?”

“Yeah… that…”

“You’re weird.”

“Aww thanks, hyung,” Sanghyuk laughed, entering the room as Hongbin moved to the side to let him in. Hongbin found it a little weird that Sanghyuk avoided saying things of a sexual nature. He’d just leave it for Hongbin to fill in or ask for clarity and get all embarrassed by such words. Which was strange considering he hadn’t had a problem being explicit over the phone…

“So…” Hongbin started feeling a bit awkward. They had situated themselves on Hongbin’s couch, watching the K-drama that had been on when Sanghyuk knocked on the door. They had gotten through one episode before Hongbin broke down and asked the question that had been eating at him for thirty minutes. “Why’d you come over?”

“I was bored,” Sanghyuk said easily, as if he had practiced what he would say before coming here if specific questions were asked. Hongbin had a feeling that wasn’t his real reasoning at all if that were actually the case. “Wonsik-hyung said you would be free tonight so I thought I’d swing by to see if you were up for hanging out.”

“Oh,” Hongbin responded. “There’s really not a whole lot to do here, though.”

“Well, that’s not exactly true,” Sanghyuk teased, that sexual lilt back in his voice once more. He scooted closer to Hongbin on the couch, wrapping an arm around his shoulders casually and leaning in close. “I can think of a couple things to do, can you?”

“Is that the real reason you came over?” Hongbin asked, his voice only a whisper. He felt a little afraid of what Sanghyuk’s answer would be.

“No…” Sanghyuk said, his face twisting into an expression of guilt. “I guess I should’ve just told you so you wouldn’t have misunderstood. It’s a little embarrassing but I was feeling lonely so I came to see you.”

“To have sex with me.”

“That’s not the only reason, just a little bonus,” Sanghyuk laughed. “You’re fun to be around, hyung. Plus, I like seeing that adorable face you make whenever you get embarrassed by my compliments. I didn’t realize you liked them so much over the phone so it’s fun to watch.”

Hongbin looked away from him, hoping his face didn’t show how hot it felt. He was almost never prepared for the barrage of compliments that always came with talking to Sanghyuk.

“See, you’re doing it right now!” Sanghyuk teased.

“You’re the worst,” Hongbin grumbled.

“Aww, don’t be that way, hyung,” Sanghyuk pouted before smirking over at him. In an instant, Hongbin found himself being pushed backwards and landing on the couch with Sanghyuk hovering over him. “How can I make it up to you?”

His voice went an octave lower than the normal playful tone he had as he said those words into Hongbin’s ear. He began to leave kisses along Hongbin’s jawline, nipping certain spots with his teeth and practically reducing Hongbin to a puddle beneath him.

“Surely there’s something,” Sanghyuk continued to tease, kissing all the right places to have Hongbin biting back moans with everything he could. His lips were going to be all sorts of torn up by the time this night was over.

“Kiss me,” Hongbin whispered breathily. Sanghyuk chuckled.

“What was that?” Sanghyuk continued. “I couldn’t hear you.”

“For fuck’s sake, Sanghyuk,” Hongbin seethed, the man clearly heard him. He just wanted Hongbin to say it again. “Kiss me!”

“You’re so demanding,” Sanghyuk pressed on. Hongbin had had enough. He rolled his eyes, deciding to take matters into his own hands and grab Sanghyuk by his shirt collar, pulling him down so he could kiss him instead, successfully cutting off whatever Sanghyuk was going to say next to continue to torment him.

Sanghyuk laughed into their kiss but easily returned the lip-lock, sliding his lips against Hongbin’s just as enthusiastically. Hongbin didn’t know how long they laid on his couch, making out, little noises escaping both or their mouths as their lips moved in sync and their tongues tangled between their mouths. But he did know that he much preferred this to just sitting and watching TV all night long. Sanghyuk wasn’t a particularly talented kisser, rather inexperienced if Hongbin had to guess, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. It still felt good to be kissing someone, to have the heavy weight and warmth of another person on top of him. It was entirely preferable to being alone all night.

“The things you do to me,” Sanghyuk whispered against his lips. Something behind Hongbin caught his eye as he stared at it with a slow forming smirk on his lips. A shiver went down Hongbin’s spine as Sanghyuk then turned that look on him. He could practically see the gears turning in Sanghyuk’s head as an idea came to him. A wave of both nerves and excitement went over him as he realized just what in his living room Sanghyuk could possibly be looking at.

“The things I want to do to you,” he said, sitting up completely. Hongbin whined at the loss and Sanghyuk laughed at him.

“I’d let you do them all,” Hongbin responded, remembering the response he’d always get from Sanghyuk over the phone when he had said that. Sanghyuk’s expression turned even more mischievous and Hongbin wondered just what kind of kinky idea had gone through his mind. Hongbin had never thought of himself to be in to anything of a masochistic nature, especially since he knew first hand that pain during sex wasn’t something he found fun or pleasurable. But apparently when it came to Sanghyuk, he was ready and willing for anything.

“Do you mean that?” Sanghyuk asked, an eye brow quirked at him.

“How do you want me?” Hongbin asked instead, hoping he was able to come off as sexy. If the absolutely devious grin he received in response was anything to go by, he’d say he pulled it off rather well. He was so going to regret his cringe-worthy words later but right now he didn’t care.

“Stand up,” Sanghyuk instructed him as he too stood up from the couch. He complied easily, waiting for Sanghyuk to tell him what to do next. “Take your clothes off.”

Again, Hongbin complied readily. He knew he was rather submissive when it came to these things but he’d never been so excited by the prospect before. What in the world was this man doing to him?

He took his clothes off in record time, pretending like he didn’t notice Sanghyuk watching him the whole time. He’d probably lose his nerve if he actually acknowledged how he was acting and thought about it longer than a few seconds. And he rather liked the way he was feeling, the way Sanghyuk was making him feel, so he didn’t think about it. He pushed his usually self-conscious thoughts out of his mind for the sake of actually having a good time, just like last time they had done something like this.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” Sanghyuk sighed when all his clothes were off. Hongbin immediately, tried to cover himself, but Sanghyuk held his arms back. “Why do you do that?”

Hongbin shook his head in an effort to convey that he didn’t know. It was a lie, he knew why but he didn’t want to get into that right now, it’d totally kill the mood.

“All right, well anyway,” Sanghyuk said, pressing himself close to Hongbin and leaning down to whisper in Hongbin’s ear again. “You just get better every time I look at you.”

Hongbin shivered, latching on to Sanghyuk so he wouldn’t lose his balance.

“Undress me,” Sanghyuk instructed. Hongbin blushed; he laughed again. “You’re cute.”

“Stop saying things like that,” Hongbin whispered, fumbling with Sanghyuk’s belt as he was told. When he got it unbuckled, he unbuttoned Sanghyuk’s pants next and pulled them off.

“Do you really want that?” Sanghyuk asked, holding his arms out so Hongbin could take off his shirt, leaving them both completely exposed in Hongbin’s living room. Hongbin realized with a bit of embarrassment that the blinds to his windows had been left open; at least the lights were turned off so it was less likely that people in neighboring buildings could actually see what was going on in here from the outside.

When Hongbin didn’t say anything in response to Sanghyuk’s question, the younger was easily able to figure out Hongbin’s answer.

“That’s what I thought.” Hongbin hated the smugness that he could hear in Sanghyuk’s voice but didn’t know what to say to get him to stop it all. Anything he could think of would probably get turned right back around on him; Sanghyuk was too clever for his own good and Hongbin’s sanity. But Hongbin himself was too stubborn to just let Sanghyuk’s teasings slide by constantly without punishment.

“Yeah go on, keep talking,” Hongbin sneered, backing away from Sanghyuk as the younger male came on to him. Hongbin’s bare back hit the cold glass of his windows and there was nowhere else for him to go. “See where that gets you.”

“You’re threatening me again?” Sanghyuk teased, boxing Hongbin in with ease. Hongbin felt so tiny encased in Sanghyuk’s warmth. He’d never thought of himself as a particularly small guy; he was taller than a lot of the people he met, but Sanghyuk… Sanghyuk made him feel so small in his arms and Hongbin really didn’t mind it. “Do you really think you’d be able to stop now?”

“Do you really want to test it?” Hongbin shot right back, giving Sanghyuk a smirk of his own. A look of worry flashed across the younger’s face and it was Hongbin’s turn to laugh. He wrapped his arms around Sanghyuk’s bare shoulders, pulling him down to eye level. “So, answer my question.”

Hongbin kissed Sanghyuk slowly, drawing out a moan from the younger man when their hips slid against each other’s in just the right way.

“How do you,” Hongbin said, against Sanghyuk’s lips, whispering each word with emphasis so Sanghyuk would understand that Hongbin wasn’t kidding around when he asked it. “Want me?”

The younger man gave him that devious smile again, one to match the look Hongbin also wore.

“You are such a tease,” Sanghyuk said. “And here I thought I was bad.”

“You are,” Hongbin responded with no hesitation.

“Now is that anyway to talk to the man about to fuck you?” Sanghyuk’s tone turned a little darker, more commanding and confident. It sent a pang of desire straight through Hongbin. “I think you should be a bit more grateful.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Hongbin mocked. “Punish me?”

Sanghyuk chuckled darkly, deep, in the back of his throat. Hongbin didn’t realize the absolutely bubbly guy that had shown up to his house had such a dark and kinky side to him. He really wanted to find out more; it excited him in ways he didn’t realize he could be excited. Sanghyuk smirked at him before saying.

“That sounds fun,” Sanghyuk purred, grabbing Hongbin’s hips with a bruising grasp. “Turn around.”

Hongbin did what was asked of him, facing the cold glass behind him. A new wave of embarrassment passed over him as he looked out at the view he was so familiar with. He could see people walking on the streets below and doing various things in the buildings near his own. Any one of them could look up and at Hongbin’s windows and easily tell what was happening in his small apartment. He felt utterly on display and exposed to the world; it was humiliating and embarrassing and yet Hongbin really couldn’t understand the amount of excitement such feelings gave him. Had he always been this weird?

“I want to fuck you up against these windows,” Sanghyuk whispered in his ear, chest pressed against Hongbin’s back; he could feel his arousal against his backside. Hongbin shivered in anticipation. “But I need to know that if at any point you want to stop, or I’m hurting you… you’ll tell me.”

Hongbin was touched by those words; Sanghyuk’s tone had shifted to that of concern. He had a feeling though, that if he ever brought up what Sanghyuk had said in this moment, the younger man would never admit to the real reason of why he said them. But Hongbin could tell; he knew the younger man was worried for him, actually cared about his enjoyment in this as much as he cared about his own. That made his heart soar.

“I will,” Hongbin nodded, leaning his forehead against the cool, clean glass and bracing his arms on either side of his head.

“Stay,” Sanghyuk said then, his voice right back to the dark and commanding tone it was before. The one that gave Hongbin basically no choice but to comply readily and eagerly.

Sanghyuk left the room for a moment, presumably searching for lube in Hongbin’s bedroom. Hongbin closed his eyes, mentally preparing for what he was about to do. He couldn’t believe what he had been reduced to; what he was suddenly very willing to do. He really had lost it…

But he was suddenly taken out of his thoughts by two cold, slicked up fingers shoving their way up into him. He cried out in a mixture of surprise, pain, and pleasure as he felt Sanghyuk’s return. A large hand was placed on his shoulder as Sanghyuk moved his two fingers in and out of him in the most sinful way. Hongbin let a string of curse words fall from his mouth, moaning unashamed as he pressed back against Sanghyuk’s fingers.

“Hearing you moan my name in person is even better than over the phone,” Sanghyuk whispered in his ear. Hongbin loved the shivers it sent down his spine. “Do you think I can get you to scream it?”

Sanghyuk chuckled as Hongbin let out a high-pitched whine, louder than any he had given before, when he added another finger to his ministrations.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Sanghyuk teased. Hongbin couldn’t even find it himself to care that the younger man was teasing him at this point. His his entire body was vibrating with pleasure, with a wanting stronger than he had ever felt before. He had no idea someone could make him feel so good. There was pain mixed in with his pleasure; the utterly brutal pace Sanghyuk had set with his slick, long fingers was stretching him wide; but Hongbin found it only added to his pleasure. Being treated so roughly with the intention to please him turned him on more than it probably should have.

“You’re so responsive,” Sanghyuk cooed. “I love your voice.”

Hongbin felt spurred on by the compliments, moaning a bit louder just for Sanghyuk, rolling his hips down to meet his fingers. He didn’t care who saw them through the window, he didn’t care that all his neighbors could hear him. He just wanted more.

It wasn’t much longer before Sanghyuk was pulling his fingers out of Hongbin and replacing them with his dick, hard and fast. It was obviously bigger than just the three fingers he had been using a second earlier so when Hongbin cried out at the sensation it was in equal parts pain and pleasure.

“Sanghyuk!” He cried out as the man bottomed out. Sanghyuk groaned in response, low and deep, sending shivers down Hongbin’s spine. He nuzzled into Hongbin’s neck, kissing it up and down as he listened to Hongbin beg for him to start moving. He started thrusting, hard and penetrating, pushing in and out with fervor. He was angled in such a way that he brushed against Hongbin’s sweat spot with every thrust. It honestly didn’t take long at all for Hongbin to be screaming like Sanghyuk had mocked him for. He didn’t even care. The response he got for the noises he made from Sanghyuk was well worth it. The man fucking him so good, so sweet, yet so rough, so brutally, was equally as desperate for release. Sanghyuk braced himself against the window, hands grabbing Hongbin’s hands that were pressed against the glass, and holding tight. The force he used and the weight of his body, pushed Hongbin further against the cold glass of the window. Hongbin’s knees were turning to jelly as he felt the burning pleasure grow tight in his stomach; it took all he could to stay standing upright.  

It only got better when Sanghyuk reached around Hongbin’s front with one hand, stroking him hard and fast. He nearly collapsed to the ground in pleasure but Sanghyuk’s strong arms kept him upright. His mouth nipped at his neck, probably leaving tons of little bruises all along his pulse line. Burning pleasure pulsed through his body, setting every nerve ending he had on fire. With one final scream of Sanghyuk’s name, he came hard, making a mess of the glass in front of him. Sanghyuk continued to thrust into him, moans actually slipping from his own mouth instead of the usual grunts. It drove Hongbin crazy to hear that deep, smooth voice pitched just a bit higher as he moaned Hongbin’s name. Not to mention the overstimulation that came from Sanghyuk continuing to fuck him well past his orgasm. He pushed back against Sanghyuk, tears beginning to prick his eyes from a pleasure so full it was painful.

With a long, deep groan, Sanghyuk finally spilled himself deep within Hongbin. They both panted hard, using the window to keep themselves upright. They both had worked up quite the sweat but neither wanted to move from where they were, basking in the after effects of their very passionate sex.

Hongbin looked out the window in front of him, feeling a ping of embarrassment once more, worrying if anyone had seen their activities. But he pushed such thoughts out of his mind, focusing on the euphoria he was in. Sanghyuk slipped out of Hongbin, sighing contently in his ear. He turned around to face the taller man, wrapping his arms around his neck as Sanghyuk grabbed his hips.

“Holy shit,” Sanghyuk sighed, just now beginning to catch his breath. He leaned his forehead against Hongbin’s, his eyes closed and a very content smile on his face.

“Yeah,” Hongbin agreed.

“And I didn’t..?” Sanghyuk started to ask, wiping at the small tear tracks on Hongbin’s face gently with the pads of his thumb.  

Hongbin shook his head to avoid Sanghyuk the embarrassment of actually asking his question.

“Not in anyway that didn’t feel fucking amazing,” Hongbin said to further comfort the man.

“Good.” He said, kissing Hongbin slowly. “So, do you wanna order a pizza?”

Hongbin laughed. Of course they’d just go right back to being casual with each other. He found he rather liked the easy way they were able to talk to each other. Nothing was awkward, nothing was forced.

“Only if you help me clean this up.”

“Right, of course, Mr. Clean.”

Hongbin rolled his eyes but didn’t argue back. He liked this moment, and he didn’t really want to ruin it by arguing.

It wasn’t hard to clean everything and gather all their clothes back up. Within twenty minutes the two were together on the couch with their ordered pizza. Hongbin leaned back against Sanghyuk’s chest, an arm slung around his waist as they watched a couple movies well into the night.

It was nice, and comfortable, and entirely relaxing. Hongbin hadn’t realized how lonely his usual Friday nights were until he spent one with someone. Guess he and Sanghyuk had that in common. They’d both been lonely, though Hongbin just hadn’t realized it until he had something to compare it to. And they both enjoyed each other’s company. Even if Sanghyuk was two years younger than him, he was mature enough that sometimes Hongbin found it difficult to believe he was talking to a nineteen year old and not someone older than himself. He was a sarcastic ass at any given moment, but he was smart, confident, funny, and an overall pleasure to be around.

Hongbin just wished he knew what to call their relationship… It was getting a bit tiresome to keep explaining to his friends that the two of them weren’t dating; especially when they continued to meet up for sexual activities through the weeks to come. He didn’t know what they were. In his mind he’d say friends with benefits but saying that out loud made him feel weird; it was embarrassing to admit that he had found himself in the middle of one of these kinds of situations. The kind of relationship he would cringe at if he saw it in a drama or movie. He didn’t know what else to call it though, so he just kept labels as far away from them as possible. They’d decide it on their own time, without anyone pressing for answers to questions Hongbin was too embarrassed to answer.

“So…” Jaehwan said in one long, drawn out syllable. Hongbin knew where this was going even before Jaehwan finished his thought. This was how Jaehwan always asked Hongbin sexual questions. “What have you and your phone buddy been up to lately?”

Hongbin practically choked on his soda. Out of everything he expected his friends to want to talk to him about lately, he hadn’t once thought this would come up. He honestly should have since it _was_ Jaehwan and Wonsik, also known as the whole reason Hongbin was in this mess to begin with. He didn’t have an answer for the question, though. What could he honestly say? As they did last time, his long time friends would instantly know if he was lying to them so he couldn’t just say that he hadn’t talked to the ‘mystery phone caller’ recently. But he also didn’t know if Wonsik would take well to the fact that he had hooked up with one of his younger friends at least four times since he’d met the man in person…

“What do you mean?” Hongbin asked, trying to recover from his almost coughing fit. He was out to lunch with Jaehwan and Wonsik while all of them had a break between classes on a Wednesday afternoon. It had been three weeks since their party; five weeks since he’d met Sanghyuk over the phone and three since he’d seen him in person. Time really did seem to fly lately.

“You know, have you contacted him again? Met him in person…?” Jaehwan continued to press. Hongbin really hated how nosy his friends could be sometimes. But Wonsik had known Sanghyuk longer than he, maybe Hongbin could get some more information on the man he’d been having sexual and casual meet ups with for the past three weeks.

“Oh… well,” Hongbin started. He visibly saw Jaehwan and Wonsik lean forward in anticipation of his answer. “You both know Sanghyuk, right?”

“What does that have to do with the question?” Wonsik asked before realization seemed to dawn on him almost the second he finished the question. “Oh…”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Jaehwan asked, pointing his chopsticks accusingly at Hongbin.

“No,” Hongbin said hesitantly. “No, I’m serious. I saw him at that coffee shop, right? And then he showed up to your guys’ party and well…”

“Well aren’t you just the luckiest man alive,” Jaehwan laughed. “That your phone buddy is a pretty chill guy and not some actual creep.”

Hongbin nodded, he found it a little hard to believe sometimes too. Almost too coincidental…

“You guy’s hooked up?” Wonsik asked around a bit of food.

“Four times…”

“Wow, Binnie, aren’t you just going for it,” Jaehwan teased. “I mean, he’s hot so I don’t blame you.”

“Wow, okay,” Wonsik laughed. “I see how it is.”

“Oh come on, you’ve gotta admit it!” Jaehwan yelled.

“Not my type,” Wonsik said, wrinkling his nose slightly at the prospect of hooking up with his friend.

“Yeah okay,” Jaehwan sneered at his boyfriend before turning back to Hongbin, placing a hand dramatically on the table as he leaned towards him and said again: “He’s hot.”

“Yeah I know,” Hongbin said, his thoughts far away to images of Sanghyuk in various stages of dress.

“So…” Jaehwan said, that teasing tone back in his voice. Hongbin braved himself for the sexual question to come. “Is he any good in bed?”

Hongbin rolled his eyes; he expected this kind of behavior from Jaehwan. It almost didn’t phase him. Almost. He still couldn’t meet his eyes and his face felt hot.

“Why do you want to know?” Hongbin asked instead of answering the question.

“Well, because Sanghyuk hasn’t had a boyfriend before,” Jaehwan said nonchalantly. As if it were an obvious fact. Wonsik even nodded as if that were common knowledge.

“What?” Hongbin asked.

“You didn’t know? I thought he would’ve told you that he was a virgin before hooking up with you…” Wonsik said, looking a little confused.

“You’re joking, right?” Hongbin asked. There was no way, no possible way, the man who was so confident, so wonderfully sexy, had only ever been with Hongbin. He easily dominated in the bedroom, bringing Hongbin to heights he’d never seen before. Had such kinky thoughts and acted upon them with no hesitation when he and Hongbin were in the heat of the moment.  

But when he thought about it all a second time, he remembered how nervous Sanghyuk had been the first time they had sex. How he kept asking for reassurance that Hongbin wanted to go through with this. How worried he always was that he had hurt Hongbin whenever they were taking on more extracurricular ways of having sex. How sloppily he kissed whenever Hongbin let him take the lead. How the man shied away from sexual terms and phrases in casual conversation.

“No, I’m not kidding,” Wonsik said. “He’s gay, right? But he’s got like real strict parents, real homophobic. He’d never been able to have a boyfriend, was real confused about the whole sexuality thing for a while.”

“He didn’t tell you?” Jaehwan asked. Hongbin shook his head, completely shocked to silence.

“He only recently told us he was gay, so he was probably too embarrassed to tell you he hadn’t done anything like that before,” Wonsik said. “He was real broken up about the whole situation when he told Jaehwan and me. Real confused but now he’s gotten a lot happier.”

“I’d be happy too, getting it on with Hongbinnie,” Jaehwan said, placing his chin his hands, elbows propped up on the table as he looked at Hongbin adoringly. “So handsome!”

“You’re so awful to your boyfriend,” Hongbin teased. Jaehwan only smiled at him, showing off sparkly white teeth.

“Yeah he is,” Wonsik agreed.

“You know I love you,” Jaehwan cooed but then turned serious once more. “But seriously, I don’t know what you’re doing but I think you’re really helping him get over the whole ‘being ashamed of himself’ complex he had earlier.” 

“I don’t know what I could’ve done,” Hongbin said quietly.

“Probably just being you,” Jaehwan laughed. “You’re pretty accepting, you know. He probably likes how comfortable you make him feel.”

“Have you told him about… two years ago?” Wonsik asked, purposefully leaving it vague for Hongbin’s sake. Just in case Hongbin was feeling particularly sensitive today.

“No, why would I?” Hongbin asked. “It’s not like we’re dating.”

“You’re not?” Wonsik asked, a very perplexed expression on his face, an eyebrow quirked and everything.

Hongbin shook his head.

“We’ve never talked about it.”

“Maybe you should,” Jaehwan spoke up. “So he doesn’t misunderstand what your relationship really is.”

Hongbin hadn’t thought about that. What if Sanghyuk wanted more? What if Sanghyuk actually thought they were dating? Hongbin really didn’t want to hurt the younger man but he also really didn’t want to be in a relationship. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for that yet.

“You have a point…”

“I mean, I know you have your reasons for not wanting to date anyone. And I completely understand and think it’s very justified. I’m not trying to impose,” Jaehwan said. “But don’t hurt that poor boy by just not saying anything. He’s been through a lot too.”

“Yeah, I know,” Hongbin said.

He understood what his friends were saying. Just as Hongbin didn’t want to get attached to someone who didn’t share his feelings, Sanghyuk probably wanted the same. Hongbin wasn’t exactly very expressive when it came to his feelings. He’d always been rather shy; almost as bad as Taekwoon sometimes. Hongbin just reacted to embarrassing situations differently. But he’d have to suck it up for this situation. He wasn’t ready to date; the idea scared him way to much. But he didn’t want to cut Sanghyuk out of his life completely. His boring lifestyle of constantly studying and being the perfect employee was suddenly brightened by the mere presence of Sanghyuk in it…

So the very next day, after all his classes had ended, Hongbin took a trip to the Starbucks where Sanghyuk worked. It was close to four in the afternoon again so there was hardly anyone in the shop. As soon as he walked into the building and Sanghyuk had looked up from whatever he had been doing behind the counter, the man broke into a bright smile. Instantly, he bolted to the front kiosk before any of his other co-workers could take Hongbin’s order. Hongbin found himself easily returning the infectious smile on Sanghyuk’s face.

“Hey there, handsome,” Sanghyuk said, leaning casually against the counter. “What can I do for you?”

Hongbin blushed at the obvious sexual way Sanghyuk twisted those words. He looked around the shop at its few current occupants. No one seemed to be paying them any attention, so Hongbin took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“What time do you get off work?” Hongbin asked. Sanghyuk’s smirk melted into confusion.

“Why?” Sanghyuk asked, looking at the small wristwatch around his wrist.

“Because I need to talk to you about some things,” Hongbin said, keeping it purposefully vague so no one accidentally overheard what they were exactly talking about.

“That’s real vague, hyung,” Sanghyuk laughed but when his eyes met Hongbin’s and saw the serious expression on his face he stopped. He cleared his throat before saying: “Oh, _those_ things.”

“Yeah,” Hongbin nodded.

“My shift ends in like twenty minutes,” Sanghyuk said, an easy smile returning to his face. “Think you can wait till then?”

“Could you make me a coffee?” Hongbin asked, breaking into his own smile once more.

“Green tea latte?” Sanghyuk asked, already beginning to key it in on the register.

“You remembered.”

“Of course,” Sanghyuk said easily, as if he couldn’t believe Hongbin would think otherwise.

“How much do I owe you?” Hongbin asked instead of continuing down that line of conversation.

“You do remember what I told you last time, right?” Sanghyuk teased. “You’ll always be the most attractive customer to walk in that door.”

“Won’t you get in trouble for constantly giving me free coffee?”

“Not when I’m paying for it.”

“I can’t let you do that…”

“Yeah, well, you’re going to,” Sanghyuk said with a laugh. “Because I’ve already rung it up.”

“You’re the worst.”

“I think you meant best.”

Hongbin rolled his eyes as he walked away from the counter, a smile coming to his face despite how annoyed he should have felt. It was always like this with Sanghyuk… His happiness was downright infectious regardless of however much of an annoyance the younger man was being.

Hongbin stood at the end of the counter, waiting for his drink to be made. Sanghyuk called for him this time, hand lingering on the cup so that when Hongbin’s went to grab it they brushed together.

“Let me know if there’s _anything_ else I can do for you,” Sanghyuk said, giving him one of those absolutely devious smiles. Hongbin wondered if Sanghyuk even knew what that smile did to him. Such a thought immediately brought back the conversation he had had with Jaehwan and Wonsik yesterday. Sanghyuk didn’t have much experience outside of what he had done with Hongbin and yet he was able to exude confidence in such areas with ease. Hongbin wondered how he would react if the situation was suddenly flipped on him; if he would get flustered or meet the challenge head on.

“Maybe there’s something I can do for you,” Hongbin said, copying Sanghyuk’s way of speaking best he could.

“Is that an offer?” Sanghyuk asked, something dark flashed in his eyes. Hongbin worried he had woken a monster within the man in front of him. It was his own fault for playing Sanghyuk’s game.

“Do you want it to be?” Hongbin asked, taking his drink and leaving the man to stand at the counter by himself. He could feel Sanghyuk’s eyes watching him as he went to a table towards the back of the shop; he definitely didn’t put a bit of extra swivel in his hips as he walked in response. He tried his best not to react when Sanghyuk whistled appreciatively after him.

He sat and watched the various people come and go from the coffee shop as he waited for Sanghyuk’s shift to end. There weren’t many customers coming in since it was rather late in the day for coffee. Sanghyuk greeted the few that did come in, smiling brightly at them and taking their order normally. Hongbin felt rather happy for reasons he couldn’t quite understand that Sanghyuk didn’t give any of his other patrons special treatment; it made him feel special even though it probably shouldn’t have.

So he started going through his various emails on his phone, making sure he didn’t get anything important throughout the day, sipping occasionally from the coffee Sanghyuk made for him.

“Did you know that you’re just effortlessly attractive at any given moment?” Sanghyuk asked, sliding in to the chair across from him and taking Hongbin out of his thoughts. He no longer had an apron on and a quick check of the time before Hongbin put his phone away showed him that Sanghyuk’s had in fact ended.

“I guess I do now,” Hongbin laughed. Of course he’d been told by tons of people that he was attractive but he figured if he said that out loud it’d sound a lot more conceited than he meant it. In actuality, he found it depreciating sometimes. That all anyone thought of him was that he was handsome and nothing more. He didn’t think he was that particularly attractive if he were being honest, but whenever he voiced that opinion, he was always met with tons of protests.

“I’m serious!” Sanghyuk said, resting his head in his hand, elbow propped on the table. He smiled happily over at Hongbin.

“I believe you,” Hongbin said.

“Those long legs of yours, adorable dimpled smile,” Sanghyuk began, listing off attributes he apparently really liked. “And don’t even get me started on that ass…”

Hongbin broke down at that, hiding his face in one of his hands as he slammed the other down on the table. Despite his embarrassment, he smiled through the pain. How Sanghyuk could say such cringe-worthy things so seriously hurt Hongbin on a deeper level.

“Oh my God,” Sanghyuk laughed. “You’re adorable.”

“You’re the worst,” Hongbin laughed out.

“I just can’t understand how someone who looks like you could be so self-conscious.”

Hongbin didn’t say anything, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Sanghyuk was seriously going to be the death of him at this point. He took a deep breath before turning back to Sanghyuk. But when his eyes met the younger man’s across from him, he broke down again into a fit of laughter. Sanghyuk looked at him with a happily shocked expression on his face.

“I’m going to literally die from how cute you are.”

“How can you just say things like that without feeling embarrassed?” Hongbin finally got out, balling his hands into fists and pulling them close to his chest.

“I don’t know,” Sanghyuk shrugged. “I just say what I think.”

“I wish I were that bold,” Hongbin mumbled.

“I think you could be,” Sanghyuk said, smile turning a little more suggestive. “Just don’t think so much.”

“Is that what you do?” Hongbin asked. “I kind of figured not much was going on up there but then you just go and outright say it..”

“Oh haha, very funny,” Sanghyuk said, shaking his head. “I have thoughts, do you wanna know what I’m thinking now?”

When Hongbin didn’t say anything, only stared at him with a raised eyebrow, Sanghyuk leaned a bit closer to Hongbin over the table. Bringing his voice down to barely above a whisper, he said:

“I’m thinking of how hot it’d be if you took charge and did what you wanted to me.”

Hongbin resisted the urge to hide his face once again at Sanghyuk’s words. Instead, he mimicked Sanghyuk’s actions, leaning forward and bringing his already deep voice, deeper as he whispered over to him. Hongbin had always been pretty good at acting; he’d just never had such a need for it before now. Faking confidence was a very useful skill when dealing with Sanghyuk.

“Really now?”

“How do you want me?” Sanghyuk asked, chuckling at his own little joke. Hongbin looked around the coffee shop they were still in. Sanghyuk’s coworkers were no longer behind the counter. There were hardly any customer’s in the store, so they were probably back in a breakroom somewhere waiting for someone to actually need them out in the main room. And the customer’s that were in the main section of the shop were completely engrossed in their own activities; whether on their computers or studying diligently in their own little words. So, before Hongbin could lose his nerve, he grabbed Sanghyuk’s arm and pulled the man with him even further into the store. Straight to the very back and in to the men’s bathroom. He was very happy that it was a slow time, making it much more likely that no one would bother them or find out what they were about to do.

“You could get me fired, you know,” Sanghyuk said yet followed where Hongbin led him with no sign of reluctance. They both clambered into the larger of the two stalls in the bathroom; the one meant to be wheelchair accessible.   

“You’ll just have to be quiet,” Hongbin said, locking the stall behind him and pushing Sanghyuk backwards until he hit the tiled wall. Sanghyuk laughed at that.

“You’re one to talk,” he said. “You’re always the loud one.”

“Yeah well,” Hongbin said, sinking down to his knees in front of Sanghyuk. The younger gave him a confused look, as if he actually didn’t understand what Hongbin was planning on doing. Hongbin figured he hadn’t ever received a blowjob before so he was in for a pleasant surprise. “We’ll see.”

Hongbin undid his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and pulled his dick out with ease.

“What are you-“ Sanghyuk began to ask but immediately froze up when Hongbin began to leave open-mouthed kisses along his forming erection, starting at the very base and working his way up. Hongbin looked up at the younger, wanting to gauge his reaction as he took him fully into his mouth. Sanghyuk moaned, low and deep despite where they were; he instantly covered his mouth with his hand upon realizing his mistake. His eyes were closed in pure bliss as Hongbin bobbed his head up and down his length. His head thrown back as it looked like it took everything in his power not to vocalize his pleasure.

Hongbin was very pleased with his work. Sanghyuk had been right, having him do what he wanted to Sanghyuk was incredibly hot. Watching the man that usually had him melting into a puddle be reduced to this mess by his doing turned him on immensely.

“F-fuck,” Sanghyuk bit out, whispering the curse as his free hand wove it’s way into Hongbin’s unstyled dark-brown hair. Hongbin let out a small moan as Sanghyuk pulled at the strands, which, in turn, caused Sanghyuk to shiver over the vibrations such a noise sent through him. “You are so good at this.”

Instead of responding, Hongbin took the compliment to give him the confidence to to take it one step further. He pulled off Sanghyuk, swirling his tongue around the tip before taking him entirely into his mouth. He felt the tip of Sanghyuk’s erection hit the back of his throat, relaxing his muscles so he wouldn’t gag around it. Sanghyuk let out a high-pitched whine at the new sensations he was feeling. Hongbin felt him trembling under the hands he had placed on Sanghyuk’s hip. He was entirely pleased with his ability to reduce the usually so self-assured man to this mess of bitten-back whines and trembling limbs.

“Hongbin,” Sanghyuk said, voice barely above a whisper as he tried to keep the noise to a minimum. Hongbin didn’t respond, continuing to bob his head. Sanghyuk began tapping at his chin as he said again: “Hongbin, please, come here.”

Hongbin looked up at Sanghyuk to find his eyes looking back down at him. Sanghyuk took a shaky breath when their eyes met, holding back a moan. Hongbin did as was asked of him, pulling off Sanghyuk and standing up. In an instant, Hongbin found himself being slammed against the tiled bathroom wall where Sanghyuk had been a moment before. Sanghyuk caged him in, pressing their bodies as close as possible.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” Sanghyuk whispered, looking down at Hongbin with his pupils blown wide.

“You say that every time,” Hongbin laughed.

“Well that’s because it’s true,” Sanghyuk smirked before capturing Hongbin’s lips in a brutal kiss. Hongbin tasted blood from Sanghyuk’s mouth; the man must’ve torn his lips apart trying to keep quiet. He returned the kiss just as enthusiastically. He felt Sanghyuk begin to undo his belt and pull his pants down just enough. Sanghyuk broke their kiss, holding two fingers up to Hongbin’s mouth as a replacement.

“Suck,” he ordered. Hongbin laughed.

“You really want to do this here?” Hongbin asked.

“We’ve come this far,” Sanghyuk laughed. “It’s your fault we’re doing this in the first place and you can’t tell me you aren’t interested.”

As he said those words, he rolled his hips against Hongbin’s, causing Hongbin to moan at the pressure. He immediately cut it short when he realized just how loud his voice was echoed back at him in the small bathroom. In response to the stupidly smug smile that overcame Sanghyuk’s face, Hongbin quickly enveloped the man’s long figures in his mouth.

Staring Sanghyuk down the entire time, he swirled his tongue languidly around the two fingers in his mouth. Sanghyuk watched him with half-lidded eyes, breathing deeply, completely entranced as Hongbin took his fingers just as well as he took his cock. It didn’t take long for Sanghyuk to rip his fingers from Hongbin’s mouth and press them both up into Hongbin, generously coating his insides with his own spit. Then, he was pressing himself up into Hongbin, still spit-slick from earlier.

Hongbin bit back moan after moan as Sanghyuk set a quick pace. Sanghyuk buried his face in Hongbin’s neck, biting back his own noises by biting at whatever skin his mouth could reach; Hongbin had gotten pretty used to wearing scarves even in warm weather thanks to Sanghyuk. But the small nips of pain at his neck were nothing compared to the pleasure he felt simultaneously. The prospect of someone walking in to the bathroom at literally anytime while Sanghyuk fucked him against the wall only made the whole act more exhilarating. He bit down hard on his bottom lip and had one hand firmly placed over his mouth to keep from being too loud. His shirt rode up so his back rubbed against the cool tiles behind him every time Sanghyuk thrust in to him. He hitched his legs around Sanghyuk’s hips to give him better access, trusting the man completely to not let him fall to the ground. Sanghyuk didn’t disappoint, his large hands placed under Hongbin’s hips easily kept him up.

Hongbin almost screamed in frustration when his worst fears were realized. The bathroom door creaked open and heavy footsteps entered the bathroom. Sanghyuk halted his movements in an instant, moving his head to look at Hongbin with a devious smirk on his face. One that spelled imminent doom for Hongbin. He held a finger to his lips, giving Hongbin a signal to stay quiet. Hongbin’s eyes went wide as he realized what Sanghyuk was about to do.

“You’ll just have to be quiet,” Sanghyuk whispered in his ear for only him to hear when Hongbin silently pleaded for Sanghyuk to wait. But the younger man, being the devil incarnate, didn’t listen. He ground his hips slowly, probing deep within Hongbin and brushing across just the right spot over and over. They hardly made a noise as they moved, certainly not enough to raise any red flags to whoever had come into the bathroom. Hongbin tasted blood as he bit down hard on his lips to keep his noises to a minimum. It just felt so good; a deep, burning pleasure that had him seeing white.

When his orgasm tore through him it took everything he had not to cry out. He bit down hard on Sanghyuk’s shoulder through his clothes, probably leaving bruises in his wake. But he could apologize later; right now, he could hardly think around the overwhelming sensations he was feeling. His vision went white, blood rushed through his ears. It was like nothing else but the man he gripped on to tightly existed.

When he came down from his high, he became aware of the fact that Sanghyuk had finished as well. He leaned heavily against Hongbin, pushing him further into the wall with his weight. He carefully set Hongbin down, catching him when Hongbin’s legs weren’t ready for his weight just yet.

“You’re evil,” Hongbin whispered, trying to catch his breath as best he could. “Absolutely despicable.” 

“And you loved every second of it,” Sanghyuk teased, kissing Hongbin’s lips lightly.

Hongbin shook his head, laughing quietly.

“The other guy left,” Sanghyuk said, moving away from Hongbin to fix his clothes.

“Oh good,” Hongbin agreed, allowing himself to speak above a whisper finally.

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk agreed.

“Want to get dinner? I still have to talk to you.”

“Oh right,” Sanghyuk said, rubbing at the back of his head in slight embarrassment. “Got a bit carried away.”

“You think?” Hongbin teased, trying not to think of what the repercussions of getting caught would’ve been. “Just give me like a minute to clean up.”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk nodded, blushing just a bit before retreating from the stall. “I’ll be outside.”

Hongbin rolled his eyes; after everything they just did, Sanghyuk still got embarrassed over the silliest things. It didn’t take him too long, but there wasn’t exactly much he could do in a public bathroom. It was enough so he didn’t feel completely disgusting until he could get back home, though, so he left the bathroom only slightly uncomfortable. When he joined Sanghyuk back outside, the younger man seemed to have composed himself of his embarrassment, greeting Hongbin with a happy smile.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Hongbin followed Sanghyuk out of the store, mentally preparing himself for what he needed to say to the other man.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's VIXX's fault for making starlights so kinky. I blame them for this fandom's sinful ways. Not that it's a bad thing we are like this ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Let me know what you think! All comments appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Sanghyuk led Hongbin down the road only a short distance to a small family owned restaurant. It was a quiet, little place, tucked between much larger buildings but it looked homey. If Sanghyuk hadn’t told Hongbin that’s where they were going, Hongbin never would’ve guessed that the building was actually a restaurant. When asked, Sanghyuk said he always came here after work when he had the money for it.

“The food is to die for,” Sanghyuk went on. “And it’s pretty decently priced for such good quality.”

Once inside, they were seated quickly. Sanghyuk really must’ve been a regular at the store because the elderly lady working the door immediately recognized him, skipping past all the other waiting customers for a chance to talk with Sanghyuk.

“Oh Sanghyuk-ah!” The lady called, standing up to meet them at the entrance.

“Ahjumma!” Sanghyuk smiled, giving a slight bow as she approached.

“And you brought a friend!”

Hongbin smiled and greeted her in return before introducing himself.

“So handsome,” she cooed. “Would you like a table?”

“Please,” Sanghyuk said. Then the lady was leading them further into the rather busy room to an open table in the back. They placed their orders at the counter, sat down, and then were left alone to converse until their food was ready. Neither of them said anything at first, both of them idly sipping at their drinks and taking in the atmosphere around them. Hongbin guessed that Sanghyuk was probably waiting for him to start the conversation since it was his idea in the first place. He was beginning to regret suggesting they get dinner, however. It wasn’t awkward being in public alone with Sanghyuk; nothing ever felt awkward when it came to being around Sanghyuk. It was the number of couples seated around them and how dangerously close this felt to a date that was making Hongbin feel weird. No one around the room who saw them would even think twice about them; none of them would jump to the conclusion that they were dating but Hongbin really wasn’t worried about the other people in the room. He really hoped that Sanghyuk wasn’t misinterpreting their relationship. Jaehwan and Wonsik had been right: He should’ve had this conversation a long time ago.

“So….” Sanghyuk said, caving first and breaking the silence. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Oh right,” Hongbin said, shifting in his chair a bit. “I was talking with Jaehwan and Wonsik the other day…”

“Oh,” Sanghyuk laughed, “I never realized just how ominous something like that would sound.”

“It always is when those two are involved,” Hongbin agreed. “There’s no easy way to say this so I’m going to just outright ask: why didn’t… why didn’t you mention that night that it would be your first time?”

Sanghyuk’s face immediately contorted into a look of embarrassment, flushing a light red as well. Hongbin supposed talking about this in a public place probably wasn’t the best idea but it needed to be done.

“Uh well,” Sanghyuk started, clearing his throat. “I thought it would totally kill the mood…”

“What if we never talked again after that night? You were completely okay with giving your first away to a complete stranger?”

“I was happy I got to… to have sex I actually enjoyed at all,” Sanghyuk said very quietly. “I’m sure Jaehwan and Wonsik also told you about my… situation.”

“With your parents?”

“Last time I ever tell those two anything,” Sanghyuk joked with a laugh.

“You could’ve told me, you know,” Hongbin continued.

“Yeah, but you would’ve treated me differently.”

“Maybe,” Hongbin said hesitantly. “I definitely wouldn’t have run with the, for lack of a better word, kinky stuff as much if I’d known. God, where did you even get those ideas? Even over the phone, I never suspected a thing with the way you act.”

Sanghyuk laughed, an embarrassed yet secretly proud smile came to his face.

“Well with my parents being so strictly against the idea of being gay I never had a lot of options. So let’s just say I did a lot of late night reading…”

Hongbin snorted.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” Sanghyuk smiled, borderline smirked. “And I guess I’m just that kind of guy because the ‘kinky’ stuff is a hell of a lot of fun in practice. And if I recall, you seem to be real in to it, too.”

Hongbin all but slammed his head on the table in his embarrassment to them immediately pop back up and burry his face in his hands instead. How could this man just say these things so casually?

“There you go again,” Sanghyuk teased, laughter clear in his voice.

“I can’t believe you just said all that out loud in public,” Hongbin said, laughing through his pain the entire way through the sentence.

“This was your idea,” Sanghyuk reminded him. “It’s your fault for wanting to discuss this in public.”

“I really hope no one overheard us.”

“Relax, it’s loud in here and even if they did, it’s none of their business anyway.”

“Yeah, okay,” Hongbin conceded, calming himself enough to no longer feel the need to hide. He took a few deep breaths and ran a hand through his hair to fully complete the process before he moved to his next line of questioning. He needed to be prepared for the worst and compulsive embarrassed laughter probably wouldn’t be taken too well. “So I guess the next thing I need to ask you is what… What are you looking to get out of this ‘relationship’?”

Sanghyuk didn’t say anything for a moment, eyebrows furrowing with a confused frown flattening his lips.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we’ve had sex… _a lot_ over the past month and we hang out normally like this a lot too,” Hongbin began to explain. He worried that he might start rambling if Sanghyuk didn’t say anything soon. “I really enjoy spending time with you and I _really enjoy_ being with you but I really don’t want a serious relationship.”

Again, Sanghyuk didn’t say anything at first; his expression had turned more and more guarded as Hongbin continued talking. Hongbin feared he had just messed everything up.

“So… we’re just friends?” Sanghyuk said carefully. His tone had none of the usual happy and playful lilt to it as he spoke. “With benefits?”

“I guess so,” Hongbin said, hoping this wouldn’t end terribly. “Are you okay with that?”

“Do I still get to hang around you?” Sanghyuk practically whispered, eyes trained on his hands as he picked nervously at his nails.

“Yeah,” Hongbin said. “I’d really like it if nothing changed.”

Sanghyuk stayed quiet for a second, seemingly thinking through everything. Hongbin’s nerves got worse and worse the longer the second ticked by.

“Okay,” Sanghyuk said, a smile that didn’t quite make it to his eyes came to his face. “I’m fine with that.”

But, for some reason or another, Hongbin got the feeling he was anything but fine.

He was set on not committing to a relationship, though. He had nothing against Sanghyuk; he was a great guy- confident, cute, and kind- but even still, the prospect of a relationship terrified him to no end. It was silly; he knew he shouldn’t have been so against the idea of being with another person. It’d been two years, he’d gotten more assertive, and Sanghyuk was nothing like his last boyfriend. He couldn’t help it, though. He didn’t want a boyfriend. If they could just keep going on as they were, Hongbin would be okay. Sanghyuk had agreed to these conditions after all so he couldn’t be that unhappy with this arrangement either. Maybe they could keep going on the way they were without feelings ever getting in the way. Hongbin enjoyed having Sanghyuk around; they worked so well together truly. But Hongbin couldn’t bear the idea of their relationship turning sour, of feelings of hatred replacing what used to be love and affection as had happened to him before and would surely happen again. He couldn’t bear the thought of having someone he cared for so deeply learn to hate him so terribly once more. So he wouldn’t pursue a relationship. He couldn’t. Not when there was so much to lose.

He and Sanghyuk continued to talk and occasionally hook up if the mood struck them. Despite Sanghyuk’s reluctance, they still talked normally and nothing ever felt awkward. He felt comfortable around Sanghyuk; they really clicked in a way that Hongbin hadn’t experienced before. So it came as no surprise to him that he found himself in Sanghyuk’s company way more often than his other friends. He preferred it this way and, though his friends never said it, they had to be just as happy that he was no longer constantly acting like a whiny third wheel.

Whenever he got bored Hongbin didn’t have to bother happy couples for entertainment anymore, Sanghyuk was always more than willing to entertain. Whenever Sanghyuk got bored or lonely, as was more often the case, Hongbin, in turn, was more than willing to share his apartment and occasionally his bed. Hongbin often found himself visiting Sanghyuk’s work in between classes because, even if Sanghyuk couldn’t talk to him at every single moment, just being around him at times was enough. Though, he did begin to notice Sanghyuk acting a bit distant at times. It didn’t happen very often but when it did, the sudden mood shift always through Hongbin for a loop. Sanghyuk never said anything and Hongbin was too afraid to ask so he never did.

But on a particularly rough day, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to find Hongbin venturing to the coffee shop where Sanghyuk worked. It was one of those days where just nothing seemed to go his way. He hadn’t slept nearly enough the night before and consequently felt absolutely sluggish the whole day. It had been raining the entire day as well, and in his rush to get out of his apartment on time, he completely forgot to grab an umbrella. He was left uncomfortably wet all day long as a result; never quite drying completely before he had to go back outside once more. On top of that, Wednesdays were always his busiest days with four lectures one right after the other starting at ten o’clock and ending just before two. He then had a test scheduled for today at two-thirty which he was pretty sure he didn’t do nearly as well as he could have on account of his lack of sleep and subsequent lack of motivation to try as hard as he normally did. He’d have to work till closing tonight at his small game shop job and then he’d work even later once home to finish all the assignments that were due by midnight tonight.

Now normally, none of this would have been such a hassle for Hongbin and his highly organized way of living, but he had gotten distracted. His mind had run a mile a minute the night before, keeping him awake well beyond when he should’ve been sleeping, tossing and turning uselessly the entire time. He had been texting Sanghyuk while he worked earlier that night in a conversation he initiated. But Sanghyuk had seemed distant, giving one-word responses with only the occasional longer message. He was wholly uninterested in their conversation, that much was clear, and even said he was going to bed well before Hongbin knew he usually did just to stop talking to him. It bothered him to no end that something was clearly bothering Sanghyuk but yet the younger man said nothing. Hongbin couldn’t help but worry that it had something to do with him; his deeply engrained insecurities coming back to him all at once and keeping him awake well into the night.

So, after he got out of his failure of a test, Hongbin decided he would go pay a visit to Sanghyuk’s place of work. Hopefully he could sort this all out and figure if Sanghyuk really was mad at him for some reason or another. Plus, he could really use a cup of coffee and a sweet smile to help him get through the rest of this awful day. Sanghyuk always did have a knack for making him feel better with just a few words.

Hongbin hurriedly walked through the rain, trying his best to keep himself dry as possible throughout the rather long walk with his jacket held over his head. When the Starbucks was in sight, however, Hongbin froze, his arms dropping down from above his head, completely disregarding the pouring rain as an unpleasant feeling settled in his stomach. From the way he was walking, Hongbin could see right in to the coffee shop through its large windows. Sitting right in the front window at a table meant for two was none other than Sanghyuk, smiling and talking animatedly. Sitting across from him was a very pretty girl, smiling just as much as Sanghyuk and listening intently as he talked.

Everything came crashing down on Hongbin. It all suddenly made a lot more sense as to why Sanghyuk had been acting distant and uninterested lately: he had met someone. A very pretty _girl_ someone. A small voice in the back of his head reminded him that Sanghyuk was very gay but that didn’t matter to him in this moment. The young man was conflicted over his desires as Wonsik and Jaehwan had told him. Maybe Hongbin’s refusal to commit to a relationship had pushed Sanghyuk right back into his denial.

Hongbin swallowed thickly around feelings he didn’t like and didn’t know what to really call. He felt guilty, but first and foremost he felt sad and just a bit jealous. He knew it was silly; they weren’t dating and never would be. Sanghyuk was free to live his life anyway he wanted; he didn’t need Hongbin’s permissions to date anyone.

They weren’t dating. They would never date. Hongbin repeated this mantra over and over again in his head as he sighed and continued his walk to the coffee shop. He still wanted his coffee even if he might not get the smile he had also been hoping for. He avoided looking at Sanghyuk, avoided looking at the absolutely happy and adoring expression on his face as he looked at the stunning woman across from him. The scene left a bad taste in his mouth and an even worse feeling in the pit of his stomach. _They weren’t dating. They would never date._

He walked into the warmth of the coffee shop, shaking his completely drenched hair out just a bit before immediately walking to the front counter, pretending he didn’t notice Sanghyuk and his lady friend at all.

“A green tea latte, please,” he told the clerk, handing over the appropriate amount of money for the first time at this location since he’d met Sanghyuk. As the clerk began to work on his drink, Hongbin waited impatiently, hoping Sanghyuk wouldn’t notice him at all.

“Hyung?”

But of course, he would.

Hongbin turned around slowly, just in time to see Sanghyuk stand up from his seat and approach him. His lady friend didn’t say anything; only watched the exchange with a small smile on her face, sipping quietly at her coffee.

“Sanghyuk,” Hongbin said in turn, his voice even but not at all his normal friendly tone.

“You’re completely soaked,” Sanghyuk said with a small laugh and an unbearably concerned expression on his face. “You’re going to get sick like that.”

“I’m fine,” Hongbin brushed him off curtly, backing away slightly from Sanghyuk’s hands as they reached out for him.

“Are you okay?” Sanghyuk asked, confusion overtaking his expression now. “Maybe you should sit down for a bit, my noona was just about to leave…”

Sanghyuk tried to reach out for him again to lead him to the table where his pretty girlfriend was still sitting but Hongbin evaded his hands once more, eyes trained on the ground. Sanghyuk couldn’t act so familiarly while also on a date with someone else. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair to the girl or to Hongbin. _They weren’t dating. They never would date._

“Seriously, I’m fine,” Hongbin asserted once more just as his name was being called for his coffee. He quickly ran over to grab the warm beverage. “Just came here for some coffee… Bye now.”

Then he all but ran from the shop, leaving a stunned and silent Sanghyuk alone in his wake, grateful to the rain to hide his stupid tears over a man he wasn’t even dating and never would.

He did end up getting sick from his constant exposure to rain that day, just as Sanghyuk had predicted. It only served to make him feel that much more miserable than he already was. It was completely stupid and wholly selfish of him to be jealous over Sanghyuk. He couldn’t hold on to the man forever. Surely the he wanted an actual relationship and not the mess of broken pieces Hongbin was. He couldn’t hold it against Sanghyuk for wanting something more and going in search of it. No, Hongbin’s anguish and misery was turned against himself. Because the truth of the matter was it was his fault they weren’t dating and never would. A fact that weighed on Hongbin almost as heavily as his conviction not to have a relationship.

Hongbin avoided any and all contact from Sanghyuk over the next few days. The younger man still called and texted, always wondering if Hongbin was okay or if he wanted to meet up. Hongbin always found an excuse. If Sanghyuk had a girlfriend now, Hongbin really didn’t want to be his guy on the side. That wouldn’t be fair to the woman Sanghyuk was seeing nor was it fair to Hongbin for Sanghyuk to expect that from him.

Sanghyuk was persistent, though. The younger man quickly caught on to the fact that something was very wrong. He tried desperately to find out what that was despite Hongbin constantly deflecting the questions. Hongbin thought he was doing rather well too, keeping him away at all costs. But Sanghyuk was a man on a mission; clearly, he cared a lot about what was going through Hongbin’s mind.

On that Saturday, three days after Hongbin had seen Sanghyuk with ‘his noona’ at that Starbucks, Sanghyuk was at his door, persistently knocking.

“Hongbin-hyung! I know you’re in there,” he shouted through the door. Hongbin stood in front of his door, debating on whether or not he should actually open it. It was rather late and Sanghyuk was making an awful lot noise; his neighbors would start complaining soon and Sanghyuk didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

“Hyung please?” He shouted again, continuing to knock at the apartment door. Hongbin couldn’t avoid him forever; perhaps now was as good a time as any to set things straight. With a deep breath to calm himself, Hongbin hesitantly opened the front door. The second the door was open far enough, Sanghyuk was flinging himself at Hongbin. Grabbing on to him and not letting go in a bone-crushing hug, Sanghyuk took Hongbin completely by surprise.

“Oh, thank God you’re okay,” Sanghyuk whispered, burying his face in Hongbin’s neck.

“What?” Hongbin asked dumbly. He couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what was going on.

“You started ignoring my calls and messages. I thought maybe something happened,” Sanghyuk whispered, not moving from his position. Hongbin didn’t return the hug.

“I’m fine,” Hongbin said simply, offering nothing else.

Sanghyuk pulled away from him slightly, looking down at the man in his arms with that stupidly concerned look from the other day. Hongbin couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Why have you been ignoring me?” Sanghyuk asked. “Did I do something? Please tell me, I miss you so much.”

Hongbin freed himself carefully from Sanghyuk’s arms, backing away from the man.

“We can’t keep doing this,” Hongbin started.

“What?” Sanghyuk asked, completely confused. “Doing what?”

“This! We can’t keep messing around, especially if…”

“Especially if what?” Sanghyuk asked. Hongbin wondered if the whole concept of dating a girl while having Hongbin on the side was completely acceptable in Sanghyuk’s mind. That made him feel a little sick with a feeling he really didn’t want to call jealousy.

“Especially if you’re dating someone now!” Hongbin snapped, letting his anger show through finally.

Sanghyuk didn’t say anything, silently grasping for words that alluded him.

“What are you talking about?” Sanghyuk finally got out. “I’m not dating anyone.”

“Don’t play this game with me,” Hongbin warned. “I saw you and her together. I’m not stupid, Sanghyuk.”

“Hongbin, I’m gay. I thought that was pretty clear,” Sanghyuk argued back. “I’m not dating anyone and I definitely don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Oh really? Then who was that girl you were with on Wednesday?”

Realization seemed to sink on Sanghyuk’s face.

“You mean my sister,” Sanghyuk said calmly. Hongbin suddenly lost the mental capacity to form words.

“I… You…” Hongbin sputtered. Whatever he was trying to say was completely lost, even to himself. Sanghyuk smiled darkly, those cogs beginning to turn in his head once more. Hongbin knew this wasn’t going to end well, whatever it was Sanghyuk was putting together in his head. He walked further in to Hongbin’s apartment, closing the door behind him as he stalked up to Hongbin.

“Is this why you’ve been ignoring me?” Sanghyuk asked, getting closer to Hongbin. Hongbin back away slowly. “Were you actually jealous?”

“No!” Hongbin shouted a bit too quickly to be convincing. It certainly didn’t fool Sanghyuk, who only laughed at his response before saying:

“I think you were.”

“I wasn’t,” Hongbin tried again, continuing to back away from Sanghyuk even though the younger man was clearly herding him towards his bedroom. “We aren’t dating, there’s no need for me to be jealous.”

“I’d be jealous if I saw you with someone else,” Sanghyuk said. The backs of Hongbin’s legs hit his bed and he toppled over backwards onto it in his loss of balance. Immediately he crawled further away from Sanghyuk until his back hit the wall behind his bed and there was nowhere else to run. Sanghyuk chuckled, closing Hongbin’s bedroom door before crawling onto the bed after him. “I’d be jealous if I knew anyone else got to see every side of you like I get to.”

Hongbin gasped as a large, strong hand grasped his ankle and pulled him down the bed, forcing him to lay down as Sanghyuk moved to hover over him. Hongbin felt a spike of arousal go through him from the way Sanghyuk manhandled him so easily. The younger man was so strong and Hongbin loved the idea that he could overpower him with ease if Hongbin asked.

“I’m sorry,” Hongbin squeaked, feeling a wide mixture of things. Sanghyuk hadn’t been with a girl on a date; he was talking with his sister. Hongbin felt so stupid, so foolish for jumping to conclusions. He was (not) jealous over Sanghyuk’s sister. And now Sanghyuk knew he was (not) jealous over his sister. This could only end badly. Hongbin hadn’t seen this look in Sanghyuk’s eyes before. It was a dark expression; protective and very clearly lustful. Hongbin felt a strange mixture of nervousness and lust himself; the look Sanghyuk gave him fueling his arousal more than anything else. What had this man done to him? He hardly recognized himself anymore.

“What are you apologizing for?” Sanghyuk chuckled.

“For misunderstanding,” Hongbin whispered. Part of him hoped an apology would make Sanghyuk stop whatever he was about to do. But a much larger part was very interested in seeing where this went. Sanghyuk was always so creative in his ways of driving Hongbin crazy, bringing him to heights he didn’t even know were possible.

“All is forgiven,” Sanghyuk whispered in his ear, nipping harshly at his outer shell. Hongbin bit his lip to contain whatever noises might spill out. “But I want to show you something to hopefully show you why your jealously is stupid.”

“What?” Hongbin asked, sighing breathily despite himself when Sanghyuk placed kisses along his neck.

“I want to show you why you have absolutely no reason to be jealous.”

Before Hongbin could say anything in response, Sanghyuk was getting up off Hongbin and beginning to undress himself. Hongbin watched from the bed with half-lidded eyes, enjoying the sight of muscular skin coming in to perfect view. Sanghyuk always called Hongbin gorgeous but Hongbin was sure Sanghyuk looked twenty times better than himself.

“Get up,” Sanghyuk commanded. Hongbin immediately obeyed, feeling embarrassed just as fast over how easily he submitted to Sanghyuk’s will. Once Sanghyuk was completely undressed, he moved to sit on the edge of Hongbin’s bed, right across from Hongbin’s bedroom door.

“Don’t look so scared, Hongbinnie,” Sanghyuk cooed. “I’m not going to hurt you unless that’s what you want.”

Hongbin didn’t say anything in response. He knew Sanghyuk wouldn’t hurt him out of any sort of negative emotion. Of course, he did. But then he had to go and twist it into merciless teasing once more. Sanghyuk was going to be the death of him.

“Strip,” Sanghyuk then ordered. Hongbin did as he was told once more, feeling embarrassed and exhilarated by Sanghyuk’s eyes on his every movement as he got undressed. When his last article of clothing was discarded onto the floor, Sanghyuk’s eyes raked over his entire body. He had seen Hongbin naked so many times now and yet Hongbin still found himself trying to hide himself with his arms.

“Come here,” Sanghyuk said quietly, sensing Hongbin’s obvious insecurities. Hongbin walked towards Sanghyuk, shivering slightly when his warm hands ran over his hips. Quickly and carefully, Sanghyuk turned Hongbin around, forcing him to face his bedroom door. His stomach dropped into his feet as he saw where Sanghyuk was going with this. He faced his bedroom door. His _closed_ bedroom door. On the back, Hongbin had hung a tall, full-body mirror to be able to see his whole reflection standing up. But now, it was reflecting the entire scene about to unfold back at him.

His hands still on Hongbin’s waist, Sanghyuk pulled him down into a sitting position. Lining him up so he could sink down right onto the man’s prominent erection. He was eased slowly down so as not to cause pain; there was still discomfort but Hongbin welcomed the familiar feeling. It felt so good; Hongbin whined in choked pleasure the entire way down.

“I know I always tell you how gorgeous you are,” Sanghyuk whispered from behind him. Hongbin was sitting in his lap now, the man’s cock burrowed deep within him, slowly setting his nerves on fire the longer it rubbed against just the right spot. Hongbin was trembling where he sat, trying to adjust to the stretch and keep himself in check all at the same time. He avoided looking at himself in the mirror, feeling completely embarrassed at the thought of watching himself take Sanghyuk’s cock, succumbing to the pleasure of it all. “Every time I compliment you, you don’t believe me.”

Sanghyuk shifted his hips a bit, drawing a deep moan from Hongbin before he could stop it. His hands gripped Hongbin’s waist lightly before he moved them slowly upwards, trailing up his sides, mapping out his entire body. His lips kissed at his neck, nipping at one spot until Hongbin knew there would be a mark left over. Hongbin, himself, was reduced to a whimpering mess, feeling not nearly stimulated enough for how turned on he was. He wanted more, he wanted Sanghyuk so bad it scared him a bit. He was about to start begging incoherently if something didn’t happen soon.

“I want you to see what I see,” Sanghyuk continued. “Move.”

That simple command was all Hongbin needed. With a long drawn out moan, Hongbin rolled his hips down onto Sanghyuk’s before pulling back up. Sanghyuk sighed at the feeling as well. The slow movements drew a plethora of sounds form the both of them, a burning pleasure beginning to fill Hongbin’s thighs and lower abdomen. It drove him crazy and Sanghyuk wasn’t doing anything to help the situation. Hongbin had to do it all himself, fucking himself slowly on Sanghyuk’s cock until he couldn’t think clearly any longer.

It wasn’t much longer until Hongbin was bouncing up and down erratically, completely giving in to the pleasure. Sanghyuk’s hands roamed all up and down Hongbin’s chest, blunt nails digging in to his skin and sending even more shivers of pleasure up his spine. Sanghyuk’s lips kissed every available spot across Hongbin’s neck and shoulders, peppering his skin with little red welts. Normally such marks would’ve annoyed Hongbin since he’d have to spend time covering them up later but in this moment, it only fueled his arousal; being claimed in such a way; showing the world who he belonged to fully. His thighs burned in his strain to keep moving but the pleasure burning alongside it made the pain worth it.

“Look at yourself,” Sanghyuk ordered, a large hand moving to force Hongbin’s chin so he could look forward. Hongbin’s stomach did flip flops as he took in what he saw. His skin was flushed noticeably redder. Bits of his dark brown hair were plastered to his face from the sweat that glistened across his skin. His eyes were half-lidded and he had a look of complete bliss on his face. He was completely debauched, watching Sanghyuk’s cock disappear into him over and over again. His much larger frame enveloping him from behind, making him look much smaller than he actually was. His strong arms held him in place. When their eyes met in the mirror, Hongbin moaned once more at the look of pure lust and possessiveness on his face.

“You’re so sexy,” Sanghyuk whispered. “How could I even think of anyone else when I have you?”

“S-Sanghyuk,” Hongbin moaned as the younger male began to move his hips in time with Hongbin’s, reaching deeper than before. Hongbin couldn’t think of anything besides the man behind him. He threw his head back, leaning against Sanghyuk’s shoulder and panting loudly. He felt so good. So completely fulfilled.

“How could you think I’d want anyone else when I have you?” Sanghyuk continued. “You feel so good, so sexy, no one else even compares.”

A few more deep thrusts and Sanghyuk was biting down hard on Hongbin’s shoulder, groaning through his orgasm. He felt the younger man shiver in pleasure, felt the sting as he bit him, and felt the warm liquid spill all over his insides. The mixture of sensations sent Hongbin right over the edge as well and he collapsed back against Sanghyuk. They both fell back on to the bed, Hongbin rolling to the side so as not to hurt Sanghyuk. He laid his head on Sanghyuk’s chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat begin to slow, and draping an arm and a leg over his body. Sanghyuk had an arm around his waist as well, holding him close to his warm, sturdy body. Both of them said nothing, panting to catch their breath and taking in the pure bliss that came in the aftermath.

Hongbin felt positively wonderful. He really had been overreacting before. He should’ve talked to Sanghyuk, used his words to understand the situation instead of assuming irrational things.

“I’m sorry for overreacting,” Hongbin mumbled when he caught his breath, beginning to draw small patterns on the man’s bare chest with the tips of his fingers. He felt gooseflesh arrive under his touches.

“If it ends like that every time, maybe you should overreact more often,” Sanghyuk laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of Hongbin’s head to show he was joking. “But it’s okay, just talk to me next time. I was so worried for the past couple days…”

“I promise,” Hongbin agreed. He had to admit, though. He had missed Sanghyuk pretty terribly. “But you started acting distant first.”

Sanghyuk didn’t say anything. Hongbin propped himself up on his elbow so he could look Sanghyuk in the eye.

“What did you need from your sister?” Hongbin asked, remembering what Sanghyuk had said before the situation had turned sexual. Sanghyuk sighed, shifting slightly and tightening the arm around Hongbin just a bit.

“You gotta talk to me, Sanghyuk,” Hongbin said when it became obvious Sanghyuk wasn’t going to say anything without some prodding.

“I know…” Sanghyuk started. “It’s just a bit complicated.”

“You know I’m here for you, right?” Hongbin said, voice dripping with concern. Sanghyuk looked up at him with so much vulnerability Hongbin began to worry even more. What had happened to Sanghyuk? The man in question took a deep, shaky breath before starting his story.

“I still live with my parents, yeah? It’s cheaper than living in the dorms and they live near enough to the city that it’s not terrible to commute every day,” he said. “Well, you already know that my parents aren’t exactly accepting of what I am. They don’t know about you or my attraction towards men… or at least they didn’t.”

Hongbin listened with a growing feeling of horror. He’d been lucky that his parents were so accepting when he came out to them, but of course he knew that wasn’t the case for everyone or even the majority of people in their culture.

“I left my phone on the counter stupidly while I did something in the other room. I guess my dad picked it up thinking it was his and opened up messages. It opened to your conversation and well, I’m sure you can figure out what happened form there. I suppose it was a mixture of how I have your name saved in my phone and the completely inappropriate way we constantly talk to each other over text that cued him in to the fact.”

“Sanghyuk…” Hongbin started, unsure of exactly what to say to comfort the man. He didn’t think there was much he could say at this point.

“It’s okay, really,” Sanghyuk said, smiling over at Hongbin so charmingly despite the topic of conversation. “I knew this would happen at some point and I know they aren’t going to hate me forever… It’ll just take some time for them to get used to it, but until then, I just really need a place to stay. That’s why I was meeting with my sister: to see if she could take me in for a couple weeks. Turns out she can’t… there’s not enough space for me with her new baby…”

“Where have you been staying, then?” Hongbin asked, his worry coming right back. Sanghyuk had been acting all distant and far away for a week at the least.

“Crashing at various people’s apartments,” Sanghyuk said hesitantly.

“Well that’s just not going to fly anymore,” Hongbin said quickly. Sanghyuk looked at him, completely bewildered. “You can stay with me.”

“You’re not serious,” Sanghyuk said. He sounded like he didn’t believe Hongbin in the slightest.

“Of course, I’m serious,” Hongbin said. “You’re my friend and I can’t just let you sleep on the streets.”

Sanghyuk broke into such a bright smile upon hearing this, flipping the both of them over so he could hover over Hongbin. He quickly kissed the tip of his nose in his happiness.

“You are literally the best,” Sanghyuk cooed, not waiting for Hongbin’s reply before capturing his lips in the happiest kiss Hongbin’s ever received.

“Did you think I wouldn’t do anything to help you?” Hongbin laughed, finding it hard not to share in Sanghyuk’s infectious happiness.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle me? I’m kind of a slob.”

Hongbin rolled his eyes.

“Of course, I can. I’m not that much of a neat freak. You just like to think I am.”

“Right, of course,” Sanghyuk teased before his expression turned much more serious. The amount of adoration he saw in his expression scared him just a tad. “I really appreciate this, you know.”

“Yeah,” Hongbin whispered, feeling slightly uncomfortable under such a look. “Of course.”

Sanghyuk cleared his throat then, his unfiltered adoring expression disappearing from his face in an instant. He got up off Hongbin, beginning to dress himself quickly.

“What are you doing?” Hongbin asked, watching a little disappointedly as Sanghyuk covered himself up with clothes once more. He moved to lay properly on the bed, uncaring that he was still completely naked.

“I’ve got to get my stuff from Jaehwan and Wonsik’s before it gets too late,” Sanghyuk explained quickly.

“Oh right,” Hongbin said, reaching to grab his phone from his jean pocket on the floor. The display told him that it was getting rather late but he knew Jaehwan and Wonsik would still be awake; it was a Saturday after all.

“I’ll be back soon,” Sanghyuk said, leaning in close to Hongbin to kiss him once more. “Stay right where you are, sexy.”

Hongbin rolled his eyes as Sanghyuk left the room laughing. He really hoped he wouldn’t regret opening his apartment to the younger male.

Hongbin dozed off while Sanghyuk was gone, completely disregarding the mess his room was in and the absolute mess he was in favor of sleeping and feeling rather happy despite himself. What felt like only moments later, Hongbin felt the bed dip behind him as Sanghyuk’s heavy weight joined him on the bed once more. An arm found its way around his waist, the younger man’s chest pressed against his back, their legs immediately tangled together. Hongbin sighed at the sudden warmth enveloping his exposed body, the feeling of being held by someone who cared. Sanghyuk burrowed his nose into Hongbin’s hair, giving his own sigh of content.

“You have no idea how much this means to me, hyung,” he heard the man whisper before pressing a light kiss to the back of Hongbin’s neck.

“Hmm,” Hongbin hummed in agreement. A thought struck him suddenly, recalling Sanghyuk’s story from earlier. “How is my name saved in your phone?”

Sanghyuk shifted a bit behind him, probably digging his phone out of his pocket. The screen was held in front of Hongbin’s face, his contact information on the display. It was saved as “For a good time” with a stupid heart and winky face next to the words. Hongbin scoffed.

Sanghyuk chuckled.

“I’ll probably change it soon… Maybe…” Sanghyuk laughed.

“Goodnight, you demon.” Hongbin mumbled, finding it hard to care in his sleepiness.

“Goodnight,” Sanghyuk responded and they both drifted off to sleep.

Living with Sanghyuk, it turned out, really wasn’t all that much different than when they lived apart. Sanghyuk had almost always been at his apartment before moving in anyway so it wasn’t much of stretch to have him around for a few more hours.

Hongbin still attended all his lectures for computer science and kept on studying like usual. He worked at a small video game shop in the middle of a shopping center, like usual. His apartment was slightly less than immaculate but he was learning to cope with it, his grades were still kept high though he increasingly found himself less and less interested in focusing solely on his grades, and his finances were managed well enough for a third-year college student also supporting a second-year college student.

Sanghyuk did what he could to help but Hongbin really didn’t expect him to do much. They weren’t living together permanently and they weren’t dating. But yet, the man always insisted: paying for food whenever he could and doing his best to clean around the apartment. Well, he at least cleaned whatever mess he made when it got too disorganized.

They’d get up in the morning. Depending on their nightly activities, Sanghyuk would either be in Hongbin’s bed or on the fold-out couch bed. Hongbin would attempt to cook something for breakfast. He quickly found out Sanghyuk was even more of a disaster in the kitchen than he was so they ended up eating cereal or fruit a lot. Then Sanghyuk would go to his morning classes while Hongbin did some of his coursework. Then, Hongbin would attend his classes while Sanghyuk went to his job. Sanghyuk would get home first, picking up dinner for the both of them while Hongbin worked. They ate together when Hongbin returned home before either studying in the living room, challenging each other in video games, or taking up some more extracurricular activities in the bedroom before falling asleep and starting the process all over again.

Their weekends were spent either lazing around the apartment all day, doing absolutely nothing, or hanging out with their shared friends.

Sanghyuk stayed with him two full weeks before any of his friends noticed that Hongbin had acquired a new roommate. He didn’t feel the need to tell them and apparently neither did Sanghyuk. He wondered if their shared friends were equally as weirdly invested in his life as they were in Hongbin’s. It wouldn’t surprise him.

But unfortunately, like every time Hongbin tried to keep something from his friends, it eventually came out. But, in hindsight, maybe it was his own fault for being so obvious.

“You guys are always hanging out,” Taekwoon said one afternoon, addressing Sanghyuk and Hongbin as the three of them sat around Hongbin’s apartment. “Like I can’t get one of you without the other anymore.”

“Aww, does Taekwoon-hyung miss having me all to himself?” Sanghyuk teased, getting up off the couch and venturing towards the kitchen in search of something.

“You wish,” Taekwoon countered, watching Sanghyuk walk away from him.

“Hey, Hyung,” Sanghyuk called from the kitchen, looking around it with a confused expression on his face. Hongbin perked up immediately, instinctively knowing Sanghyuk was referring to him.

“Yeah?” He called back.

“Where’d you put my laptop?”

“I moved it so I wouldn’t accidentally spill something on it while I was cooking. It’s in my bedroom,” Hongbin quickly explained.

“Ah, thanks,” Sanghyuk said, easily walking in to Hongbin’s bedroom without a second thought to go retrieve his laptop. Hongbin watched Taekwoon’s expression with a ping of worry. The elder looked positively skeptical as he watched the completely familiar way Sanghyuk navigated a home that was not his own. When that expression turned to Hongbin, Hongbin shrunk in on himself. Taekwoon was usually so hard to read but in this moment, the judgement was clear. Hongbin knew exactly what Taekwoon was thinking.

“What?” Hongbin said, though his voice was pitched a bit higher in his anxiety.

“He’s living with you,” Taekwoon said with such certainty, Hongbin didn’t think there was anything he could say to dissuade him.

“What?” Hongbin tried anyway. “Why would you think that?”

Taekwoon said nothing, only continued to stare at him with that look of absolute judgement.

“He needed a place to stay. His parents kicked him out,” Hongbin defended. “What was I supposed to do?”

Sanghyuk walked back into the room, stopping whatever Taekwoon was about to say in response. He sat down on the couch, right next to Hongbin and slung an arm around the back of the couch behind Hongbin as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Usually, Hongbin wouldn’t have thought twice about Sanghyuk’s touchy-feely way of living but in this moment, he was suddenly very aware of how familiar they acted towards each other. It was bordering dangerously between close friends and lovers. Taekwoon continued to look at Hongbin with that infuriatingly knowing look on his face.

“What time do you have to leave tomorrow?” Sanghyuk asked once he was situated.

“For school or for work?” Hongbin asked.

“School.”

“One o’clock.”

“You want to grab lunch with me before? I think Jaehwan wanted to too.” 

Hongbin avoided looking at Taekwoon. It wasn’t any of his business. Hongbin could do whatever he wanted to; he didn’t need permission from anyone to live his life.

“Yeah,” Hongbin answered, going back to scrolling through his phone as he was before. He was comfortable with the way he and Sanghyuk went about their lives together. It was nice to have someone who wanted to be around him all the time. Just because Taekwoon took every opportunity to get away from Hakyeon for a time didn’t mean Hongbin felt the same about who he was living with. Sure, they weren’t dating and their highly familiar way of talking to each other and touching each other was a little strange as a consequence. But this was how they worked and they worked so well together, so Hongbin couldn’t find it in himself to care.

After another ten minutes, Sanghyuk got up once more to do something or another.

“You aren’t dating,” Taekwoon said almost the second Sanghyuk was out of earshot again.

“No, we aren’t,” Hongbin said quietly. “Does that matter?”

“He clearly likes you,” he said. How Taekwoon was able to constantly read the situation perfectly was lost on Hongbin. Maybe it was because the older man didn’t say much so he observed instead. Whatever the reason was, Taekwoon was almost too good at saying all the things Hongbin already knew but didn’t want to admit.

“We aren’t dating,” Hongbin said instead of responding to Taekwoon’s statement. He didn’t know what else to say.

“Does he know why?” Taekwoon asked.

“No…”

“Maybe you should tell him before you hurt him,” Taekwoon said, taking a sip of the coffee Sanghyuk had brought home from work for him on request.

Sanghyuk returned to the room once more. As soon as their eyes met across the way, Sanghyuk broke out into a bright smile. Hongbin couldn’t help but return such a smile.

“He’s good for you, Hongbinnie,” Taekwoon mumbled so quietly that Hongbin wasn’t sure he heard Taekwoon say it at all. “Don’t worry so much.”

They continued to talk idly until Taekwoon had to return home and face his husband. He couldn’t hide forever and, though Taekwoon would never say such a thing, Hongbin knew most of his apprehension toward the man was completely fake. He was the one that had asked Hakyeon to marry him after all so he clearly cared for the man despite how often he said and acted otherwise.

Once Taekwoon was gone, he and Sanghyuk curled up together on the couch, watching whatever movies they could find on the TV well into the night. Taekwoon’s words echoed in Hongbin’s head as he laid comfortably in Sanghyuk’s arms, watching a crappy made for TV movie. He felt warm and comfortable and just _right_. _He’s good for you._ Hongbin knew this, he’d known it for a long time. But he wouldn’t- no he couldn’t- pursue a romantic relationship. He’d find a way to ruin it, just as he had his last one and then he’d lose the one person that made him the happiest. He couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t.

But perhaps, Taekwoon did have a point. _He clearly likes you._ Hongbin didn’t want to hurt Sanghyuk; that was as far from his mind as it could possibly be. He knew. It was practically impossible not to see how much Sanghyuk clearly liked him in more than just a friendly sort of way. He kissed him when there was no reason to. He always knew when Hongbin was in a bad mood and would do whatever he could to remedy the situation. He was always touching Hongbin in some way or another; an arm around his shoulder as they sat next to each other, his chest pressed against Hongbin’s back as they laid on the couch together, their limbs tangling until they couldn’t who’s was who’s just by looking at them whenever they laid in bed. Sanghyuk was always so gentle with him when he needed to be, absolutely merciless when Hongbin was begging for it, but always- _always_ \- affectionate in the aftermath.

If Hongbin’s past had been just a bit different, there would be no reason for him not to just finally seal the deal and put a label on their clearly very romantic relationship. But Hongbin was the way he was for a reason, and Sanghyuk deserved to know why.

The TV shut off, taking Hongbin out of his thoughts as Sanghyuk shifted behind him.

“I know your first class isn’t till one o’clock tomorrow but some of us have to get up early still,” Sanghyuk said in response to Hongbin’s unasked question. Hongbin sat up slowly, looking down at Sanghyuk through the darkness. It was now or never.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Hongbin asked quietly. Sanghyuk sat up as well, immediately noticing Hongbin’s sudden mood shift. He placed his hands carefully around Hongbin.

“Of course,” he said, ready to listen very carefully to what Hongbin had to say.

“I…” Hongbin started but cut himself off, feeling rather awkward about what he was going say. “I really like you.”

“Aww, hyung I like you too,” Sanghyuk smiled, teasing tone in his voice. But it vanished when he realized Hongbin was being deadly serious about the whole thing.

“No, I mean, I really like you. Like so much that it scares me sometimes but… but I can’t…”

Sanghyuk leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on Hongbin’s forehead and silencing Hongbin’s ramblings.

“Taekwoon-hyung told me a bit about what happened,” Sanghyuk said. Hongbin cursed silently to himself. Taekwoon was Sanghyuk’s one-on-one vocal coach, they spent an hour alone with each other every week. Of course, Taekwoon would go and tell Sanghyuk everything. For someone so quiet he sure couldn’t keep a secret to save his life.

“And I understand, hyung, I really do,” Sanghyuk continued. “The way that guy treated you was so terrible.”

Hongbin leaned heavily into Sanghyuk’s touch as he felt strong arms hold on to him tighter, pulling him in close. He had heard these words so many times from his friends but for some reason, hearing Sanghyuk say it made Hongbin feel comforted, made him feel understood.

“I…” Sanghyuk paused, just as Hongbin had before confessing his own feelings. “I adore you and I know I haven’t been in a relationship before but I’m one hundred percent certain that I want one with you.”

Hongbin didn’t say anything, waiting for the ‘but’ he knew was coming.

“But I know why you’re so reluctant and I know it probably doesn’t help at all to have me say I could never hate you but I just wanna get that out there anyway,” Sanghyuk laughed. “There’s nothing you could do or nothing that could happen to make me hurt you the way he did.

“I’m willing to wait for you,” Sanghyuk finished, hugging Hongbin like his life depended on it. “However long it takes, I will wait for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only one chapter left! It shouldn't take that long to write so look out for me! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! All comments appreciated. 
> 
> Oh and follow me on twitter! @AAvery151 I'd love to chat with you all if you so desired!


	4. Chapter 4

Two months.

Hongbin had known Sanghyuk for two months. They had talked exclusively over the phone for the first two weeks they had known each other. After they met face to face for the first time at Wonsik and Jaehwan’s party, the next three weeks were spent constantly hanging out with one another and sleeping together more times, and in more ways, than Hongbin could count.

When Sanghyuk’s parents had found out his not-so-safely kept secret and kicked him out, Hongbin immediately opened his apartment to Sanghyuk. They had been living together for three weeks, going on a full month now. Though not every moment was perfect- they had their fair share of arguments just like any other pair of roommates- Hongbin’s life was so much brighter for it. Sanghyuk had told him how much he cared just by saying he would wait for Hongbin to be ready for a relationship. He had always been so considerate, so sweet, kind, caring; any synonym would work but none of them were good enough to describe the man in Hongbin’s mind. And though the idea of an actual relationship scared Hongbin out of his mind, he found himself getting over such a phobia more and more the longer he spent around the man of his dreams. Hongbin had discovered a lot of shocking things about himself from the first time he had met Sanghyuk: He was a bit of a masochist, he said some of the most cringy things when he was being fucked senseless, and most overwhelmingly so was he was one hundred percent in love with Sanghyuk throughout it all; he just hadn’t known it at the time.

Hongbin was suddenly struck by just how close the two of them had gotten as they sat, surrounded by friends at Wonsik and Jaehwan’s apartment once again. There weren’t nearly as many people in the apartment as last time, just the six of them sitting around the small living room. Hongbin didn’t feel like the awkward third-wheel or like he was intruding on happy couples with his single lifestyle this time, either. He had Sanghyuk and though they _weren’t_ dating, it certainly looked and felt as if they were. Their friends all knew that they still weren’t dating, but they never pressed on the reasons why or told them to just hurry up and seal the deal. They knew Hongbin had his reasons, but they also knew he was working to overcome those reasons and would do so in his own time. Hongbin really loved his friends sometimes. How supportive they were… even if they were a little too invested in his dating life, he knew they all meant well.

“Hey Hongbin, you wanna know what your dork did today during practice?” Wonsik asked as Hongbin came back into the room from the kitchen. He handed Sanghyuk a fresh drink, who thanked him with a happy smile, before sitting down next to him. Like it was habit, and it pretty much was at this point, Sanghyuk wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer. Hongbin easily made himself comfortable against Sanghyuk, not feeling the least bit embarrassed by their closeness. But almost immediately as Wonsik asked the question, Sanghyuk began whining exaggeratedly.

“Noooo,” he screeched. “You said we’d never speak of it again, you liar!”

Everyone burst into laughter. Only occasionally did Sanghyuk act like the teenager he actually was but when he did, oh boy was it entertaining to watch.

“I feel like Hongbin would get a kick out of this, though!”

Sanghyuk groaned but stopped whining like a child in reluctance acceptance.

“Why is he  _my_ dork?” Hongbin laughed; Sanghyuk gave him a pouty look.

“Because you’re the only one that can put up with him for extended periods of time,” Jaehwan said, a few volumes too loud.

“And you’re one to talk,” Hongbin shot right back.

“Ouch, Binnie, that hurts.”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk agreed, still pouting adorably at him. “Why can’t I be _your_ dork?”

“Well according to everyone here you already are.”

“You know it,” Sanghyuk smiled, pulling Hongbin just a bit closer.

“So, do you want to hear the story or not?” Wonsik asked now that the argument had been resolved.

“Of course,” Hongbin quickly said. Sanghyuk groaned again, hiding his face in Hongbin’s hair. Hongbin rubbed Sanghyuk’s thigh soothingly. He felt the man press a kiss to the top of his head in thanks but still kept his face buried in his hair as Wonsik began to tell his story.

“So we were in the middle of practice, yeah? Sanghyuk over here was getting critiqued by our coach about his competition routine while everyone else was on break. But the idiot left his phone out in the open with its ringer on.

“So of course, it went off while the coach was talking. Jongin went over to stop his stupid ringtone and you’d think this loser would have put a passcode on his phone after what happened the last time someone used it when they weren’t supposed to but nooo. Jongin opens it up and I shit you not, Sanghyuk screamed like a little girl. You wouldn’t think someone so big could scream so high-pitched, but he did and right over the coach’s lecture.

“he practically leaped across the room, almost tackling Jongin in the process, and smashed into the mirror.”

“You’re even more dramatic than Taekwoon,” Hakyeon laughed. Taekwoon rolled his eyes with an unamused on his face.

“I’m not dramatic,” Taekwoon complained.

“I’m not dramatic,” Sanghyuk mocked, mimicking Taekwoon’s ways of speaking perfectly.

“You have no place mocking Taekwoon,” Wonsik yelled, laughing loudly. “Because when he ran into the mirror, he gave himself a bloody nose and had to sit out for the rest of practice because his nose was gushing buckets.”

“Jesus, Sanghyuk,” Hakyeon said. “What do you have on your phone?”

“Uhh,” Sanghyuk trailed off, looking at Hongbin for help but Hongbin wasn’t going to. He’d be condemning himself in the process if he did that.

“Nothing?” Sanghyuk tried.

“Pictures of Hongbin’s dick,” Jaehwan said bluntly. Hongbin doubled over with embarrassed laughter. Sanghyuk took the joke a different way…

“Pictures of his ass,” Sanghyuk corrected, unashamed. He’d gotten a lot bolder lately when it came to sexual conversations. That led to a lot more dirty talk from the man, which Hongbin quite liked, but also to situations like this one, which Hongbin did not like. Hongbin hit Sanghyuk on the shoulder a few times in his embarrassment. It didn’t affect Sanghyuk at all; the man just grabbed him and held him in place with his strong arms wrapped tightly around his torso. Damn his strength; he could neutralize Hongbin way too easily.

“Well, now we all know how sex between you two works,” Jaehwan snickered.

“Were you actually wondering that?” Wonsik asked incredulously.

“I think it’s fun to guess. Like of course Sanghyuk would be on top, that’s really not all that surprising. And I’m sure you _all_ know I’m a complete power bottom. Wonsikkie never stands a chance,” Jaehwan continued as casually as he would tell the weather to someone.

“That’s way too much information,” Hongbin mumbled. Sanghyuk chuckled quietly in his ear. His chin was resting on his shoulder, arms still wrapped firmly around him. Hongbin quite liked the way this felt.

“And we all know Hakyeon wears the pants in that relationship,” Jaehwan finished. Hakyeon laughed loudly at that one.

“You’d be surprised,” he purred, looking over to where his husband was hiding embarrassment, on his knees, on the floor, face planted firmly on the ground, no doubt blushing cherry red. Hakyeon sighed dramatically. “Oh get up, you big baby.”

Taekwoon shook his head in defiance as Hakyeon grabbed one of his arms in an attempt to pull him off the ground. He didn’t budge. And of course, as was tradition whenever the six of them got together for long enough, a screaming match ensued. Each trying to make fun of the other endlessly and as loudly as possible. But Hongbin enjoyed himself. Hanging around everyone, being happy and feeling light-hearted was infinitely better than his previous perpetual bitterness. Taekwoon had been right: Sanghyuk _was_ good for him.

When it got late into the night, Sanghyuk and Hongbin left Jaehwan and Wonsik’s. They announced their departure this time, so no one could make fun of them for ditching to sleep with each other again. When they reached their apartment, Sanghyuk waited patiently while Hongbin unlocked the door. They went inside then, shedding their coats and shoes by the door.

“You know, a lot has changed since the last time we left Jaehwan and Wonsik’s together,” Sanghyuk said idly. When Hongbin turned to look at him, there was a quiet kind of smile on his face. Hongbin always felt special when he received that smile; no one else ever got to see that particular one.

“Yeah,” Hongbin agreed. “It really has.”

Sanghyuk stepped closer, grabbing Hongbin’s hips with one hand and his cheek with the other. Hongbin instinctively moved with him, placing his hands on the man’s chest. Sanghyuk kissed him sweetly, lingering close when they broke apart. He looked as if he wanted to say a million different things but didn’t know if he should.

“What is it?” Hongbin asked. Sanghyuk cleared his throat before speaking. Hongbin felt worried for what was to come.

“My mom called me earlier today,” Sanghyuk started. “She said that I’d be welcomed back home if I could forgive them for overreacting…”

Hongbin’s heart dropped to his feet despite himself. He had known this living arrangement would only be temporary, but he’d still miss not having Sanghyuk around him constantly; he’d miss the schedule they had easily fallen in to, and how right everything felt.

“Soo… are you going to move back home, then?” Hongbin asked quietly.

“Well about that,” Sanghyuk said, probably easily assuming what Hongbin was thinking. “I was actually hoping I could stay here… if that’s not too much to ask. I could help pay rent. My stuff's here anyway and it’s a lot closer to work and school.”

Sanghyuk paused, waiting to see what Hongbin’s reaction would be to his question.

“Yeah,” Hongbin said, his voice twenty times happier than moments before. “Of course you can.”

The smile Hongbin received had to be the most beautiful thing ever. Sanghyuk kissed him again, deeper than before but still so sweet. Hongbin could practically melt.

“There’s one more thing I have to ask of you, though,” Sanghyuk said as they pulled away from the kiss.

“So demanding.”

“I know, I know,” Sanghyuk laughed. “But my parents really want to meet you at some point and if you don’t go willingly they’ll track you down.”

“How scary,” Hongbin teased. “But of course, I’ll do that too.”

“You’re the literal best.”

“I know.”

“I should stop complimenting you,” Sanghyuk teased. “You’re getting kind of cocky, aren’t you?”

“You don’t have to stop…”

“Then I won’t,” Sanghyuk easily agreed. “Because you deserve every bit of them, gorgeous.”

“Yeah okay, you dork,” Hongbin snorted. “Come on, I’m tired. Let’s go to bed.”

“Probably a good idea,” Sanghyuk agreed, letting go of Hongbin to walk over to the couch. “I have classes in the morning.”

He began pulling cushions off the couch, probably to set up the pull-out bed. Hongbin stopped him wordlessly, grabbing his wrist and pulling him gently towards the bedroom, confusing Sanghyuk quite a bit by his actions.

“What are you doing? I thought you were tired,” Sanghyuk said but went along with Hongbin without a fight regardless.

“I am,” Hongbin said.

“So… we’re going to bed, right?” Sanghyuk clearly wasn’t understanding what Hongbin was doing.

“We are.”

“Oh, Sanghyuk seemed to finally get what Hongbin was trying to imply. “You mean I can?”

Hongbin nodded.

“Without having sex?”

Hongbin nodded.

“And it's not just for tonight?”

“It’s your home now too so…”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk said, smiling that quiet smile once more. “Yeah okay.”

They changed out of their clothes, putting on something more comfortable to sleep in before they both climbed into Hongbin’s queen sized bed together. Sanghyuk scooped Hongbin up into his arms almost immediately. Hongbin, of course, went willingly. Sanghyuk had always been a cuddly person, especially when he was sleeping, but Hongbin didn’t mind. He always found it kind of endearing. He rested his head against Sanghyuk’s chest, listening to the man’s steady heartbeat as they drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

It was in that moment Hongbin realized how far he had fallen for the man holding him so sweetly. How comfortable he made him feel, how caring he was. When he thought about having a relationship with Sanghyuk, he found himself… happy with the idea. He wanted it. He needed it. He just had to find the right moment to tell Sanghyuk everything he was feeling.

And lucky for him, such a moment came only a week later. He was sitting at home alone, working on homework that was due by that night. For once, Hongbin had returned to the apartment from their daily schedules before Sanghyuk. The man had to work a double shift because they were short-staffed at the coffee shop where he worked. It was a little strange being home alone so late into the evening. Usually, by now, he and Sanghyuk would be tangled up on the couch, working on their homework or watching TV together. He hadn’t eaten yet either, waiting for Sanghyuk to come home since he probably hadn’t eaten yet either, and it was starting to get late. But thankfully, Sanghyuk’s shift would be ending soon and Hongbin wouldn’t have to sit in silence while he studied any longer. It was entirely too reminiscent of his life before his ball of energy in the form of an attractive man came into his life. He didn’t like it. He knew he was being silly. He couldn’t realistically expect Sanghyuk to be around him twenty-four-seven. He had never felt this way about someone before, so he really didn’t know what to do to stop himself from feeling this way. With his last boyfriend, he had savored the moments he got to himself and dreaded the ones where his boyfriend was present. But now, it was the exact opposite. Was that how relationships worked? Was that how loving somebody worked? Hongbin certainly didn’t know and Sanghyuk was just as inexperienced as he was. He supposed they would just have to figure out this whole “feelings” thing together… when Hongbin finally told Sanghyuk, that is.

Hongbin was suddenly taken out of his thoughts as his phone began ringing, slicing through the silence and nearly giving Hongbin a heart attack. He grabbed it and answered it quickly when he saw the caller ID.

“Hey sexy,” Sanghyuk said over the phone the second Hongbin put his to his ear.

“Hey yourself,” Hongbin shot back, deflecting Sanghyuk’s compliments. He liked them; they always made him feel wanted but he was never going to let Sanghyuk know that, even though he probably already did.

“Miss me?” Sanghyuk teased.

“Of course,” Hongbin said sarcastically even though it was completely true.

“Good, because I’ve missed you,” Sanghyuk laughed. Hongbin felt his face heat up at the sincerity in Sanghyuk’s voice. “I’m so tired, man. I could really use a hug, Hongbinnie.”

“Well get home and you can have one, _Hyogi_.”

“Hyogi?”

“Yeah. Jaehwan and Hakyeon call you that all the time, so why can’t I?”

“No no, that wasn’t it,” Sanghyuk laughed. “I just haven’t heard you call me that before. It’s kind of nice. I like it.”

“Yeah okay.” Hongbin was having a hard time keeping his embarrassment out of his voice and Sanghyuk could easily pick up on it, as always.

“You’re adorable,” Sanghyuk cooed. Hongbin could hear the smile in his voice. “But anyway, have you eaten?”

“Nope, I was waiting for you.”

“How sweet. Hongbin-hyung is the sweetest.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Nonono, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Sanghyuk laughed. Hongbin couldn’t help it; he was smiling ear to ear as well. The younger’s happiness was infectious. “But seriously, what do you want to eat? I can pick something up.”

“You don’t have to do that… I could try to make something?” Hongbin tried. Sanghyuk’s answer was evident in his complete silence. “Oh shut up, I’m better at cooking than you are.”

“And that’s really not saying much.”

“Rude,” Hongbin pouted.

“I’ll just grab something, that way we don’t have a huge mess to clean up and we can just relax together,” Sanghyuk said.

“That sounds nice,” Hongbin gave in. He did really want to cuddle up on the couch with Sanghyuk. They hadn’t had much of a chance throughout the week to just relax together between work and school. So Sanghyuk’s proposition sounded freaking fantastic.

“Yeah, I thought so too,” Sanghyuk said sweetly. “So, what does my Hongbinnie want to eat?”

Hongbin opened his mouth to say something but he stopped himself short. In the background of Sanghyuk’s end of the line, Hongbin heard shouting. The voice sounded familiar but Hongbin couldn’t be sure and he really didn’t want to be right. He heard movement on the other side of the line.

“Yeah, is there a problem?” He heard Sanghyuk yell. His voice sounded further away; he must’ve moved the phone away from his ear. Hongbin heard more yelling from a very distant voice; he couldn’t make out what was said but Sanghyuk’s anger was evident.

“What did you just say?” Sanghyuk yelled back. Hongbin hadn’t heard him so angry before.

“Darling, I’ve got to go,” Sanghyuk said into the phone.

“Sanghyuk, what’s going on?” Hongbin asked.

“Don’t worry,” Sanghyuk said. “I’ll be home soon, love you.”

And then the line went dead.

Hongbin was left in a stunned silence for so many reasons at once. He slowly pulled his phone away from his ear, looking at the picture of a smiling Sanghyuk along with himself that was set as his background in astonishment.

What had just happened? Who had been yelling at Sanghyuk and why had Sanghyuk gotten so angry? But most importantly, and what left Hongbin the most speechless, was that Sanghyuk had told him he loved him before he hung up the phone. Hongbin tried to tell himself it was just a slip-up; a force of habit; he couldn’t possibly have meant it, could he? But again, Hongbin surprised himself even further by how happy those words had made him. He was rather upset the younger man hadn’t given him the chance to say it back before hanging up… So he really hoped Sanghyuk had meant it.

The younger man had told him not to worry… As if he could do that after what he had just heard. Who _was_ in the background? Why _was_ Sanghyuk so angry? He had never heard that tone of voice from the man before. Hongbin hadn’t even thought of him capable of anger with how constantly happy he was. Even when they got into arguments; serious arguments over serious things and not just playful banter; Sanghyuk never rose his voice or called him names as he had grown to expect from people angry with him. He took the time to be supportive and comforting while still trying to get what he believed to be right across to Hongbin. Never once had he heard that tone of voice. What could have possibly happened to prompt such anger?

Hongbin couldn’t do anything but worry. _Don’t worry,_ yeah right. Hongbin paced back and forth endlessly in his living room as he waited for Sanghyuk to get home. It took thirty minutes for him to get home and when he did, Hongbin literally could not hold back his worry any longer. The second he heard the doorknob begin to move, Hongbin was rushing over to the door. And when he saw Sanghyuk, he short-circuited.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Hongbin said so quickly the words were basically indistinguishable from one another. Sanghyuk looked terrible. There was a trail of dried blood coming from his nose all over his face and T-shirt where he had clearly tried to wipe his face. There was also the beginning of a black eye forming on Sanghyuk’s left eye.

“Don’t worry,” Sanghyuk tried to neutralize the situation. It had zero effect on Hongbin. “You should see the other guy.”

Hongbin rushed forward, tentatively touching Sanghyuk’s bruising eye. The man flinched under his touch, the skin clearly very sensitive.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Sanghyuk tried again. “My nose stopped bleeding a while ago. Oh, and I got food. You should’ve seen the looks I got looking like this, though, while ordering food.”

He held up the bag of food in his hands to show Hongbin. He was clearly trying to make light of the situation but Hongbin wasn’t having it.

“For fuck’s sake, Sanghyuk,” Hongbin said, his worry beginning to sound like anger. So he took his tone done. He wasn’t angry, just so worried, so confused as to what the hell had happened. “What… What happened? How did this… How?”

Sanghyuk sighed, clearly he had been hoping not to address the elephant in the room but once again, Hongbin could just let this go. The man had been bleeding. Someone had punched him hard enough to draw blood. Of course, Hongbin wanted to know what happened! He was so worried, he was going to have a heart attack if he didn’t calm down soon.

Sanghyuk swopped in quickly, sensing Hongbin’s imminent mental break down.

“It’s okay, I’m okay,” Sanghyuk hushed, hand on Hongbin’s cheek, thumb rubbing soothing circles. Hongbin nodded, taking deep breaths. How could Sanghyuk be so selfless? Here he was, dried blood on his shirt and face, and yet he was still caring for Hongbin.

“Come, sit down,’ Hongbin said, breaking away from Sanghyuk and pulling him towards the couch. It wasn’t his time to be cared for; Sanghyuk needed it now way more than he did. He deserved it.

Sanghyuk sat down without complaining as Hongbin rushed to his apartment’s bathroom. He got a washcloth and generously wet it down before going back out to Sanghyuk. Carefully, Hongbin began to wipe up the blood on Sanghyuk’s face. The younger man let him do it, knowing that this was Hongbin’s way of calming down. They didn’t say anything for the time it took Hongbin to clean half the blood up and not feel like he was about to pass out from panic. But he couldn’t take it anymore; he had to know what had happened.

“What happened?” He whispered, looking into Sanghyuk’s warm brown eyes as he asked the question. Sanghyuk sighed, knowing full well he wasn’t going to get away with never explaining himself.

“So we were on the phone, right? I was in the process of walking to go get some food and I took a shortcut through kind of a shady area. I do this like every day, so I didn’t think it was a big deal.

“Then this guy, who must’ve been listening to my side of the phone call for a good amount of time shouted at me, saying just the most awful things. He asked me if I was talking to you specifically and when I affirmed it, he flipped out. I guess I somehow managed to run in to and piss off your ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh my God,” Hongbin said in disbelief. He knew that the asshole was still out there somewhere, but he never expected to ever see or hear of him again.

“Yeah I know,” Sanghyuk laughed bitterly. “I would’ve just kept walking, ignored the asshole since he was just insulting me at first. But then he started calling you all sorts of names, telling me all sort of nasty things that I just know aren’t true about you. I just couldn’t take that lying down. He could say whatever the fuck he wants to about me, I don’t give a damn. But the second that asshole brings you into it, after everything he did to you, I snapped.”

Sanghyuk paused, refusing to look up from where his eyes were trained on the ground. He opened and closed his mouth a couple times as he debated saying whatever was going through his head.

“I love you, Hongbin,” Sanghyuk said finally. “I said it over the phone just to get a rise out of that poor excuse of a human being, but I really meant it. I have no other word to describe how I feel about you.”

Hongbin didn’t say anything, waiting with bated breath for Sanghyuk to finish his speech.

“And if you’re not ready, I’m going to wait however long it takes because you’re so worth it. No matter what anyone has told you in the past, you’re amazing. So yeah, I got into a fight with that guy because I couldn’t stand the way he was talking about the man I love when he had no right to even utter your name.”

Hongbin practically threw himself at Sanghyuk, latching on to him tight. Sanghyuk was reasonably taken off guard and it took him a moment to react, but eventually, he grabbed on to Hongbin in return.

“I love you too,” Hongbin whispered against his chest. Sanghyuk laughed, pure happiness in his voice as he pulled Hongbin a little closer.

Hongbin wasn’t sure how long they sat like that on the couch in the living room, but he was one-hundred percent sure of how much he adored this man. Sanghyuk had literally and figuratively beaten up everything wrong in his past, making all that negativity and abuse seem miles away and wholly insignificant. Though he wished Sanghyuk hadn’t resorted to violence and got himself hurt in the process, Hongbin was extremely touched by the man’s actions. Sanghyuk was _the_ best thing that had ever happened to him; no doubt in his mind whatsoever any longer.

“Sanghyuk?” Hongbin asked, disengaging far enough so that he could look Sanghyuk in the eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

“Only if you’ll be mine.”

And Hongbin kissed him.

Slow, deep, and passionate; he tried to convey everything he was feeling right in this moment into the kiss, everything he had been so reluctant to share for two months. He loved this man. He’d do anything for him and if Sanghyuk’s actions tonight proved anything, it was that Sanghyuk felt the exact same way.

Sanghyuk kissed him.

Again and again, hands placed gently on his waist as he too poured his all into his actions. The kiss was slow, passionate, and oh so loving; almost the complete opposite of every kiss they shared when their interactions turned sexual before it. Hongbin loved every second of it. He never wanted this moment to end and chastised himself for depriving the both of them of moments exactly like this one for so long.

He felt Sanghyuk lift him up slowly, standing up and beginning to walk towards their bedroom. Hongbin wrapped his legs around Sanghyuk’s waist, his arms around his neck. Sanghyuk’s large hands kept him securely held up from under his thighs. Their lips never left each other’s as they slowly made their way into the bedroom. Sanghyuk carefully laid him out on the bed, gently so not as to hurt him. Their clothes were quickly shed, thrown wherever they pleased to be forgotten about until later. Sanghyuk carefully draped himself over Hongbin, applying a generous amount of lube to Hongbin’s ass and his own erection before pressing in slowly. They both groaned at the feelings, holding on to one another tightly. Sanghyuk took it slow, waiting to make sure he didn’t hurt Hongbin before setting a leisurely pace. Like their kiss before, this was slow, passionate, and oh so loving. This was their first time as a real, official couple and Hongbin was soaking in every minute of it. Unlike every time before, there was nothing kinky nor was there any hurry to get off. It was just them, enjoying each other’s bodies, sharing each other’s breaths with their foreheads pressed together.

The longer they went on, the more Hongbin was driven higher and higher until he was moaning unashamed and crying out Sanghyuk’s name. Noises escaped Sanghyuk’s mouth as well, clearly feeling just as good as Hongbin.

“You’re so good, Hongbinnie,” Sanghyuk whispered. “So beautiful, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” Hongbin choked out as best he could.

Neither of them lasted much longer, moaning each other’s names and whispering words of love in each other’s ear as they came down from the best high Hongbin’s every experienced. And it was from a spectacular orgasm. Though that played a role in the experience, Hongbin had felt more intense pleasure by Sanghyuk’s doing before this. No, it was the knowledge that he was loved, that his feelings and sentiments were returned. That, coupled with still a pretty amazing orgasm, made Hongbin feel on cloud nine.

They collapsed in a heap on top of each other, panting hard to catch their breath yet still sharing lingering kisses in their pleasurable aftermath.

“And you’re sure about this,” Sanghyuk started when he had caught his breath enough to speak full sentences. He pressed his forehead against Hongbin’s, pulling the pair of them to the side so that he was no longer crushing Hongbin beneath him. He pulled him close, intertwining their legs and holding him tightly. Hongbin sighed in content, enjoying the feeling of their bare skin touching. He didn’t even care that they were both sweat-slick and there was a gross amount of semen sticking between them. Usually, he’d clean up before allowing Sanghyuk to latch on to him and cuddle but right now, he just wanted to enjoy this moment, bask in this feeling. “You’re sure you want to make this official?”

Hongbin didn’t hesitate.

“I’m sure,” he said, looking Sanghyuk right in the eyes as he did. “I’m still a bit… nervous but I want to be with you so I’m willing to work through it.”

Sanghyuk squeezed him so hard Hongbin could barely breathe in response to his admittance.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me!” Sanghyuk gushed. “Now I can kiss you whenever I want! And we can go on actual dates, and I can hold your hand in public and… and…”

“You do all that already,” Hongbin somehow managed to get out, tapping Sanghyuk’s arms in an attempt to get him to stop squeezing the life out of him.

“Yeah but know it’s official.” Sanghyuk loosened his grip on Hongbin once again. “And all it took was getting a black eye and a bloody nose from your ex-boyfriend. I wonder what it’ll take to get you to marry me in the future…”

Hongbin laughed, kissing the tip of Sanghyuk’s nose, sharing the man’s infectious smile.

“You’re such a dork.”

“Yeah but now I’m your dork.”

“You’ve always been my dork.”

“And you’ve been my little neat freak.”

“Oh haha, very funny.”

They sat in a content silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s company for the first time as boyfriends.

“In all seriousness,” Sanghyuk started, looking Hongbin right in the eye as he said his next words. Hongbin’s heart soared at the unfiltered look of affection Sanghyuk wore; the same look that had scared him weeks ago. “I want to cherish you for however long we spend together. And if I ever get as bad as the asshole I ran into tonight, I want you to tell me and I’ll go jump off a building because God damn that was a poor excuse of a human being.”

Hongbin giggled.

“I don’t think that’ll ever be a problem.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re so sweet, caring, kind…” Hongbin started listing off, watching with pleasant surprise as Sanghyuk’s face flushed. “Should I keep going?”

“Please don’t,” Sanghyuk mumbled, genuinely embarrassed for the first time by Hongbin’s words. He understood why the man teased him so much now; he rather liked the way Sanghyuk was reacting; it was rather cute.

“You’re adorable.”

“That’s my line!” Sanghyuk complained with a smile.

“Come on, _Hyogi_ ,” Hongbin cooed, enjoying the blush that came right back on to Sanghyuk’s face. “Let’s go eat, I’m starving.”

“Alright, _Binnie._ ”

And so, Hongbin’s single life ended.

His life with Sanghyuk as his boyfriend, unsurprising to even himself, was hardly different from his life when Sanghyuk wasn’t his boyfriend. He attended classes and studied diligently as usual. He met up with Sanghyuk and occasionally Jaehwan and Wonsik for lunch as usual. He kept working at his job and Sanghyuk worked at his like usual. Every time Hongbin came to visit, Sanghyuk would give him a free coffee because no matter what, in Sanghyuk’s own words. Hongbin would always be the most attractive customer to walk in during his shift. His apartment was a pretty good mix of complete and utter chaos and immaculate organization- he was learned to accept he couldn’t have everything under control at all times. His grades were high but that was mostly out of obligation to do well rather than his previous incessant need. His finances were okay considering his new living situation but whenever he was struggling, he had Sanghyuk to help him pull through. And though his life wasn’t as precisely micromanaged as it had been before, Hongbin couldn’t have been happier.

Telling their friends about their now official relationship had gotten pretty much the exact reactions Hongbin had been expecting.

“It’s about fucking time, I was about to ask each other out for you,” Jaehwan sighed in exasperation. “Now tell me all the juicy details!”

“You guy weren’t dating before?” Wonsik asked, looking absolutely perplexed for a few minutes before continuing. “Where the hell have I been for the past few weeks?”

“I knew you’d figure it all out,” Taekwoon said, giving a rare smile. “I’m happy for you.”

“Ahh! I’m so happy!” Hakyeon screeched, running at the two of them in full force. He latched on tight before immediately backing away with a look of deadly seriousness, directing his next words at Sanghyuk and poking at his chest accusingly. “If you ever hurt my green bean, I swear to God I will end you.”

Sanghyuk, having never seen this side of Hakyeon before, had been reasonably scared out of his mind. But he assured Hakyeon he would never lay a finger on Hongbin in anger and Hakyeon had been all smiles and hugs once more.

The next challenge had been meeting Sanghyuk’s parents. Meeting the parents of your significant other was a really big deal in the culture they lived in and though Sanghyuk’s parents hadn’t been expecting to meet their son’s boyfriend when they scheduled the dinner, that’s what they would be getting. Hongbin didn’t want to mess anything up and despite Sanghyuk’s constant assurance, Hongbin still couldn’t help the deeply ingrained insecurities from surfacing from time to time.

He quickly discovered, however, that Sanghyuk’s family was a lot like Sanghyuk, which shouldn’t have been all the surprising; the man had to have gotten it from somewhere. The moment Hongbin stood in front of Sanghyuk’s parents and was introduced to them by Sanghyuk as his boyfriend was the only awkward moment of the night. And that was only because the older couple was reasonably surprised by that new information. They had been expecting to meet Sanghyuk’s ‘best gay friend’, the man who had taken him in when they unreasonably kicked him out. But instead, here Sanghyuk was introducing Hongbin as his boyfriend. Instead of the awkward and stunted conversation about gay relationships that Hongbin was expecting, Sanghyuk’s mother immediately smiled and introduced herself and her husband.

Like talking with Sanghyuk, talking with his parents wasn’t awkward, wasn’t weird. Hongbin easily fell into the light conversation, the playful banter that was thrown around throughout the entire experience. There were a few slip-ups, a few times where Hongbin could see that Sanghyuk’s parents were really trying to embrace their son’s sexuality but he never felt like they were outwardly against it. Hongbin really admired that about the elderly couple. Though they had freaked out at first, ultimately their love for their son overcame all that prejudice.

“I just really want to thank you, Hongbin, for what you’ve done for our son,” Sanghyuk’s father spoke up, looking at him with sincerity reminiscent of the way Sanghyuk would also look at him when he was being serious.

“He’s never looked happier. We’re just glad Sanghyuk found someone who loves him,” his mother said.

“Mom,” Sanghyuk groaned. “I’m right here.”

“Yes and?” His mother laughed, and Sanghyuk rolled his eyes. “We just want you two to be happy.”

And happy they were. They stayed together through the rest of the school year and the next. When Hongbin graduated, he was lucky enough to find himself a job in the city they lived in, doing exactly what he had been hoping for. It was a win-win all around. Hongbin got the job of his dreams, working to design and produce video games, and he got to stay in the same city to continue living with his now year and a half long boyfriend.

When Sanghyuk met Hongbin’s parents, he was practically adopted into the family. His older sisters adored Sanghyuk, unsurprisingly, and his mother and father were happy Hongbin had finally found someone who treated him right. Hongbin was relieved his parents liked Sanghyuk and that his family was so accepting in general. He had been surrounded by people who loved and cared about him but had been too afraid to reach out so the whole experience was an eye-opener for him. And yet again, he had Sanghyuk to thank for that. For forcing him to open up, to not have such a bitter outlook on life. Sure, he still hid most of his emotions behind snarky remarks, but now everyone knew he was just putting on an act versus actually feeling bitter about life.

About two years into his and Sanghyuk’s relationship, Jaehwan and Wonsik had decided to take theirs to the next level. The two of them had been dating for five years by that point; it was about time.

“I was about to ask the both of you to marry the other myself,” Hongbin joked, throwing Jaehwan’s words right back in his face when the two of them announced their engagement. Everyone laughed at his joke; each of them probably thinking the exact same thing.

“Yeah, laugh it up, King-of-taking-too-long,” Jaehwan shot right back. “If it wasn’t for me and Wonsik, you’d still be bitterly single.”

“Ouch,” Hongbin said, grabbing his heart dramatically. “That’s kind of mean.”

“Don’t throw shade at me if you can’t take it, Kong.”

“Yeah, okay.”

But that wasn’t the only thing Jaehwan and Wonsik wanted to tell Hongbin that night. It was right before everyone decided to leave for the night that they dropped a bomb on Hongbin.

“Well, now that you two have been successfully dating for two years and it’s not a total disaster of a relationship, I think it’s safe to tell you that Wonsik and I set this whole thing up,” Jaehwan said, off-handedly like it wasn’t a huge deal at all.

“What?!” Hongbin shouted, looking incredulously between Wonsik and Jaehwan and Sanghyuk, who would not look at him in turn. “But that paper… the bet… you guys made me throw my phone number out a window!”

“Yeah and no one actually ever found it so…” Jaehwan said.

Hongbin didn’t say anything, waiting with an incredulous look on his face for someone to explain what the hell they were talking about.

“So… We knew you’d been having this struggle to get back in the dating game and to be honest, everyone was tired of you mopping around all the damn time,” Jaehwan said. Hongbin rolled his eyes, knowing that Jaehwan’s harsh words were meant to be loving. “And when it became obvious no one was actually going to call you from that bet, we… decided to shake things up a bit.”

“Sanghyuk over here had the biggest crush on you for the longest time… before you even knew he existed.”

“Is that true?” Hongbin asked, looking sideways at his boyfriend. Sanghyuk met his eyes for only a second before looking away completely embarrassed.

“Yeah, I guess,” Sanghyuk mumbled.

“Yeah, I guess,” Taekwoon mocked from across the room, mimicking Sanghyuk’s way of speaking perfectly.

“Please,” Wonsik laughed. “Every time Hongbin came around during our dance practices, Sanghyuk started drooling all over the place. What was it you always said…? It’s those…”

“It’s those God damn dimples,” Sanghyuk answered bitterly.

“There it is.”

“So we gave Sanghyuk your phone number, telling him about the bet and making sure he understood to act like he’d never heard of you before. He did a pretty good job in that respect,” Jaehwan continued.

“We didn’t think everything would turn out so sexual but that’s apparently what Sanghyuk ran with.”

“And we thought Wonsik was the pervert,” Hakyeon snorted.

“Very funny,” Wonsik snorted.

“But we’re really happy it worked out in the long run, so that’s why we’re telling you about this now.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me earlier?” Hongbin asked Sanghyuk.

“Jaehwan threatened me with my life if I told you. I just really wanted the chance to get to know you, so I wasn’t going to fuck that up.”

“Aww,” Hakyeon cooed. “How come everyone else gets a meet cute and I get that.”

Hakyeon pointed dejectedly at Taekwoon, who glared at him in return.

“I see how it is.”

“You know I love you,” Hakyeon changed his demeanor yet again but Taekwoon only rolled his eyes at his antics.

“Anyway,” Taekwoon started, completely deflecting Hakyeon who whined indignantly and ran at Taekwoon to hug him. Taekwoon accepted his fate and did nothing to detach Hakyeon from himself. “Back to why we were originally here, congrats to Jaehwan and Wonsik for _finally_ getting married.”

And about four months later, in the spring, the two of them did get married. It was a beautiful service. Watching how happy the two of them were together really made Hongbin envious. Not because he wasn’t happy with Sanghyuk- that was the exact opposite of the case- but because he wanted the same commitment those two had made for each other. And that was really saying something, Hongbin actually wanted to commit for life to Sanghyuk. What? Was this even him? It couldn’t be, yet here he was.

He and Sanghyuk had been together two very happy years, going on three by the spring. Both of them had graduated from school and found their own jobs. Sanghyuk was an up-and-coming performer, teaching dance to children and teens on the side. Hongbin was in line to make lead-programmer someday in his company and was doing rather well for himself; not to even mention his top spots among players in numerous video games.

They had moved to a bigger apartment, each getting their own space to work on their careers. They kept in touch with their friends, meeting up with any of them at least once in any given week. Hongbin had gotten better at cooking, not the best but it was still better than Sanghyuk’s and they didn’t have to eat out constantly any longer. They easily fell into a routine day to day that felt so comfortable, but their lives never felt boring with each other. Sanghyuk was still a kinky little shit, but Hongbin could never complain because he was just as into it. And above all else, Hongbin knew he’d never find someone he’d love as much, or connected with as well, as he did with Sanghyuk. They argued, sure. Every couple did. But the big difference was that they could come back together, after they cooled off, and they could talk it out. Never once had either of them struck the other in anger, never once had they demeaned the other because they were argued, never once had they forced themselves on the other when one of them wasn’t feeling it. They both were learning what it meant to be in a relationship, a real relationship, and sometimes it was rough. Of course, it would be. But it was uniquely and organically them, and Hongbin wouldn’t have it any other way.

So when the time came, Hongbin took it. He wasn’t going to drag this out as he had in the beginning. He wouldn’t waste any longer. Sanghyuk wouldn’t have to beat up anyone up for this one.

It was late. They were walking home from an absolutely wonderful three-year anniversary date. Sanghyuk had taken him to the aquarium; Hongbin had always wanted to go on a date there and he was more than ecstatic than to do so with Sanghyuk. They’d had dinner, paid for by Hongbin since he’d gotten the promotion he’d been hoping for.

“Three years,” Sanghyuk sighed, pulling Hongbin close to him once they were back in their apartment’s living room.

“You surprised?” Hongbin laughed, hugging him back with no hesitation.

“Little bit,” Sanghyuk laughed. “I can’t imagine why you’d want to spend three years of your life with me.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true, though. It’s pretty common knowledge at this point that I’m pretty annoying.”

“Yeah, so am I,” Hongbin said. “It all evens out because you put up with me.”

“I suppose you have a good point,” Sanghyuk laughed.

Hongbin pulled away from him, suddenly feeling very nervous. He knew he shouldn’t have been; he knew without a doubt what Sanghyuk’s answer would be. But he couldn’t help it. Not with how big this proposition would be.

“What’s wrong?” Sanghyuk asked, looking a little troubled. “You’re pulling a weird face.”

Hongbin took a deep breath.

“Take my hand.”

“What?”

“Just take my hand.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain if you’ll just take my hand.”

“Hongbin, you’re scaring me.”

“Just do it!”

“Why?!”

“I’m trying to ask you to marry me so take my damn hand!”

Sanghyuk went quiet in an instant, placing his hand in Hongbin’s outstretched one between them.

“Thank you,” Hongbin sighed. He should’ve known this was how this was going to go down. He fished the ring he had bought out of his pocket, presenting it to Sanghyuk carefully, a little afraid of what the man’s reaction would be. Sanghyuk said nothing, watching Hongbin with a look of such shock on his face. Hongbin didn’t know how to take that. “Now… I know I’m not the best at expressing myself… I don’t outwardly say my feelings as much as I should. But I love you so much, Sanghyuk. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that could deal with me as well as you do, and I know there’s no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with so…”

“You’re so cheesy,” Sanghyuk cooed. Hongbin blushed.

“This is why I don’t tell you how I feel,” he mumbled bitterly.

“You should do it more often,” Sanghyuk said. “Because I love you too. Because you put up with all my shit, because you’re so adorable, because you’re so easy to be around, and you love me for me. There’s no one I’d rather be with either, so of course, I’ll marry you, Hongbinnie, but only if…”

Sanghyuk dug through his own pocket with his other hand, brandishing his own engagement ring for Hongbin to take with his own look of shock.

“But only if you’ll marry me.”

“You’re such a dork.”

“But now I’m eternally your dork.”

And when Hongbin showed up on Hakyeon’s doorstep with tears streaming down his face on account of his boyfriend for the second time, it was for a totally different reason than it had been the first time. Hakyeon, of course, hadn’t known that at the time and looked absolutely ready to fuck shit up in his white, fluffy bathrobe, glass of red wine in hand, and an absolute ferocity on his face. But then, Hongbin showed him his hand with his sparkling engagement ring and not long after Hakyeon was crying right along with him.

It had been an upward battle from the start, but when it all came down to it, Hongbin wouldn’t have had it any other way. If he ever had any doubts, he always came back to Sanghyuk.

Who could’ve ever guessed that a stupid little bet could’ve turned his life so completely upside down?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written a Hyuk and Hongbin story before; a quick look at my portfolio will tell you I'm an avid shipper of Hyuk and Leo. But this was fun and I'd definitely write another one if people are interested. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading! All comments appreciated. 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter! @AAvery151


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